Second Chances
by Renthead621
Summary: A year and a half after Mimi died. Roger's got a job as a bartender and is trying to put a new band together. After finding out her boyfriend was cheating on her Adrianna goes to a bar and meets someone. RogerOC. Please review. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

"Mark, I'm gonna be late for work, did you see my keys?" Roger asked looking around the loft.

"They're on the counter in the kitchen." Mark said looking up from his camera.

"Thanks. I gotta go. Are you guys still coming to the bar later?" he asked looking over at him as he shoved his wallet into his back pocket.

"Yeah, we'll be there as soon as Joanne gets off of work." he said putting his camera down on the table.

"OK, I'll see you later then." Roger said going towards the door to leave.

"OK Rog, see you later." Mark said getting up to go to the kitchen. Roger had been working at a bar near the loft since Mimi died a year and a half earlier. He wanted to get another band together, but writing the songs were not coming easily for him. He needed to do something in the mean time.

"Hey Rog." Nick said as Roger entered the bar.

"Hey Nick. How's it going?" he asked taking his leather jacket off before going behind the bar.

"It's going. It's been slow, so hopefully you'll have an uneventful night. I'll be back as soon as I can." he said putting his jacket on as Roger began wiping down the bar.

"OK Nick. Take your time. I should be able to handle it on my own." Roger smiled as Nick left the bar. There were only a few people sitting at the bar so Roger went around to the jukebox and pumped some money in to play some songs.

"Hey Roger, you gonna play some of that heavy metal you like so much or are you gonna let us hear some Johnny Cash today?" an older gentleman asked smiling at his friend next to him.

"When have you ever known me to play Johnny Cash, Bill?" he asked laughing as a young, beautiful blond entered the bar.

"A guy can hope can't he?" Bill laughed drinking his draft beer.

"Don't touch the jukebox, you two." he laughed going back behind the bar where the young woman sat. "What can I get you?" he asked looking down at her.

"Stoli neat and keep 'em coming." she said putting a 20 on the bar as she got comfortable on the bar stool.

"Are you OK?" he asked pouring the stoli into a glass and putting it in front of her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Are you a therapist or a bartender?" she asked downing the stoli.

"Sorry. Do you want another?" he asked looking down at her.

"Yeah, another one would be great. Listen, I'm sorry, I'm just having a really bad day and I don't want to talk about it." she said looking up at him as he poured her another drink.

"No problem. But if you want to talk, I'm a good listener." he smiled looking down at her. "I'm Roger, by the way." he said holding his hand out to her.

"Hi Roger, I'm Adrianna." she smiled reaching out for his hand.

"So do you want to talk about anything? I may not be a therapist, but bartenders are pretty close." he smiled looking down at her.

"Nah, just boyfriend problems. Actually ex boyfriend problems. Nothing I can't handle. Thanks Roger." she smiled looking up at him before taking another drink.

"Oh, sorry to hear that." he told her wiping down the bar again.

"Don't be. It's for the best." she said downing her second glass of stoli. "So, does that jukebox play anything good or just this heavy metal shit?" she smiled looking up at him.

"See for yourself." he smiled gesturing towards the jukebox.

"OK thanks." she smiled hopping off of the barstool and rushing towards the jukebox. "Who's got money in here?" she asked looking back at the bar.

"Look at heavy metal boy over there. He won't let us play anything decent." Al smiled looking over at Roger.

"Decent is a matter of opinion." she smiled turning back to the jukebox starting to press buttons.

"Now I'm scared." Roger laughed looking over at Adrianna who was bouncing up and down excitedly picking songs.

"I have a feeling you should be." Bill laughed looking up at Roger.

"Oh joy." Roger smiled leaning on the bar.

"SHOT THROUGH THE HEART AND YOU'RE TO BLAME. DARLIN YOU GIVE LOVE A BAD NAME." Adrianna sung at the top of her lungs as she twirled around the room. "I love this song." she laughed dancing over to the bar for her drink.

"Bon Jovi. Of course." he laughed watching her sway to the music.

"What do you mean, Bon Jovi, of course? Bon Jovi rocks." she smiled drinking her drink again.

"Adrianna, they're a hairband." he laughed looking down at her.

"So what." she squealed looking up at him. "They're still great." she laughed before drinking her drink.

"If you say so." he laughed watching her dance around the bar.

"Come on Roger. Dance with me." she laughed looking over at him.

"Oh no. I don't dance." he smiled looking over at her.

"Don't be a chicken Roger. Dance with me." she called out twirling around the room.

"Maybe you should sit down. I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself." he smiled looking over at her.

"How am I gonna hurt myself? I'm only dancing." she smiled looking over at him as he came from behind the bar to go to her.

"You keep spinning around like that, you're gonna get dizzy and fall down." he said reaching out for her as she stumbled into him.

"Well if you were dancing with me, I wouldn't have to spin around so much." she laughed leaning into his chest.

"OK, why don't I bring you over there so you can sit down?" he asked as Mark, Collins, Maureen and Joanna entered the bar.

"Ooh goody, more people." she laughed as he led her back to the barstool.

"Hey guys. Why don't you sit down over there?" he smiled looking over at them as he helped Adrianna sit down.

"Roger, you're being rude. Aren't you gonna introduce your friends?" she asked looking up at him.

"Sorry, Adrianna those are my friends. Guys this is Adrianna and she's gonna sit down now." he smiled looking down at Adrianna.

"Hi Adrianna. Having a good time, I see." Collins smiled looking over at her.

"Yeah, I'm great." she smiled picking up at her drink.

"I'm Collins." he smiled sitting next to her.

"Hi Collins. Do you like Bon Jovi? Roger doesn't. He won't dance with me." she slurred looking over at Roger who went back behind the bar.

"Yeah, Roger's not much of a dancer. Unless there's a mosh pit. Then he kicks ass." Maureen smiled looking over at her.

"I have a feeling he can hold his own." she smiled looking over at him as he poured drinks for everyone.

"No, I'm not much of a dancer." Roger said looking over at her as he set the drinks on the bar.

"We'll see about that." she smiled looking up at him as she drank her stoli.

"Slow down Adrianna. You're gonna wind up giving Collins a run for his money." Roger smiled looking over at them.

"Oh my god, I love this song. Who played the hairband music?" Maureen smiled looking over at Roger.

"Ask Tiny Dancer over here." Roger smiled gesturing to Adrianna.

"Tiny Dancer? I like that." she smiled looking up at him.

"Well it just fits you." he laughed looking down at the bar as he wiped it down again.

"So who wants to dance?" she smiled looking over at Mark, who was sitting quietly on the other side of Collins.

"Oh no, I don't dance." Mark said pushing his glasses up onto his face.

"Come on Mark. Dance with the lady." Roger teased looking over at Mark as he drank his soda.

"Yeah Mark, dance with me." Adrianna smiled hopping off of her stool and taking Mark's hand.

"I'm really not a good dancer." he said as she held his hands swaying to the music.

"You're doing great." she smiled as he twirled her.

"Smooth move Mark." Collins smiled as everyone watched them dance in the middle of the bar.

"Looks like Mark's got some moves." Joanne smiled looking up at Roger as Maureen watched them.

"Yeah, looks like." Roger said as he turned around to wash some glasses.

"Come on Roger, it's a slow song. You can't screw up that much. " she smiled looking up at him as she rushed to the bar.

"No, I shouldn't. I have things to do." he said looking down at her.

"Oh come on Roger. I wanna dance with you." she smiled taking his hand and leading him to the dance floor.

"Yeah Roger, dance with the little lady." Bill smiled looking over at him.

"But I can't dance." he said as she wrapped her arms around his neck and began moving to the music.

"That's OK. I'll teach you. This won't hurt a bit." she smiled looking into his green eyes. He wrapped his arms around her waist and began to move with her. "You're doing it." she smiled looking up at him. As they moved together, he stared into her bright blue eyes.

"Um... yeah. I should get back to the bar. Thanks for the dance." he smiled looking down at her before going back to the bar.

"Why did you stop? You two looked really good together." Maureen said looking up at Roger.

"Because I'm working Maureen. Do you need a refill?" he asked looking down at Maureen ignoring her.

"No, we're OK. Adrianna's cute, isn't she?" Maureen said looking up at him.

"She just broke up with her boyfriend. She's on the rebound." he said looking down at her.

"So what? Roger, you really need to take a chance." Maureen said smiling up at him as she drank her beer.

"I agree kid. I don't think I've seen you smile this much since I've known you." Al said drinking his beer.

"You two I don't need." he smiled looking over at them.

"What? We didn't do anything." Bill laughed looking over at him.

"Yeah, just drink your drinks. This is a bar, not a dating service." he smiled looking over at Adrianna and Mark. She was trying to teach him how to dance.

"Come on Mark, this is a great song." she laughed looking up at him as she jumped around.

"I need to rest. You're wearing me out." he laughed escaping back to the bar. "Next shift. She has a lot of energy." he laughed drinking his beer.

"Yeah well, downing 5 stoli's will do that to you." Roger laughed looking over at her as she danced by herself.

"5 stoli's? Oh yeah, she's drunk." Collins laughed watching her.

"Yeah, I better get her before she hurts herself." Roger said coming out from behind the bar.

"Hey Roger. Are you ready for another dance?" she smiled looking up at him.

"Come on Tiny Dancer, you should sit down." he smiled putting his arm around her waist.

"OK. You know Roger. I like you calling me Tiny Dancer. It's cute." she smiled as he put her on the barstool.

"Yeah well, I think your dancing days are over for now." he smiled looking down at her.

"I'm just trying to have fun. Why are you trying to ruin my good time?" she asked looking up at him.

"I'm sorry Adrianna. I just don't want you to get hurt." he said looking down at her.

"Fine. Um, I'm gonna go for a cigarette." she said looking up at him as she got off of the barstool.

"I'll go with you. Bill, don't be stealing any beer, huh. I'll be right back." he said looking over at him as he led Adrianna outside.

"I'm sorry. I just needed to let loose, you know? I've had a rough time lately." she said looking up at him as he handed her a cigarette and lit his lighter for her.

"That's OK. I understand about having a rough time. I've been having a rough time the last 5 years. So what did your boyfriend do?" he asked looking down at her.

"Ex boyfriend. I broke up with him this morning. We were ending anyway. I mean, we weren't happy and we grew apart." she said looking up at him taking a drag from her cigarette.

"What happened? If you don't mind me asking." he said smoking his cigarette.

"He was cheating on me with his secretary. I caught them in his apartment. Isn't that the most pathetically ironic thing you've ever heard? I mean, I'm a secretary and he has an affair with his." she laughed as tears came to her eyes.

"It's OK Adrianna. He's a jerk. You're better off without him." he said looking down at her.

"I know. I'm sorry. I'm just really burned out and maybe a little drunk." she said sniffling before wiping her eyes.

"A little?" he laughed looking down at her.

"Ha ha. I shouldn't be dumping this on you. I really should be getting home. I need to sleep this off before I get myself into trouble." she said looking up at him.

"Why don't you let me get Collins to walk you home? You shouldn't be walking alone and I can't leave here." he said looking down at her.

"Yeah, maybe that's a good idea. Am I gonna see you again?" she asked looking up at him.

"Yeah, you'll see me again. We're friends, right?" he smiled looking down at her as she threw her cigarette into the street.

"Yeah, we're friends. I'll give Collins my phone number. You can call me, if you want." she smiled looking up at him as he tossed his cigarette.

"OK. I'd like that. Come on Tiny Dancer, let's get your stuff." he smiled opening the door for her.

"Thanks Roger. I appreciate you taking care of me like this." she said looking up at him.

"No problem." he said following her into the bar. She got her bag and her coat on while Roger talked to Collins about walking her home.

* * *

"So tell me about Roger." Adrianna said looking up at Collins as they walked to her apartment.

"What do you wanna know?" he asked looking down at her as he held on to her waist to make sure she didn't fall.

"Well, I mean, does he have a girlfriend? Is he a serial killer? Stuff like that." she asked laughing as he looked down at her.

"No, he doesn't have a girlfriend. No, he's not a serial killer. He's just a nice guy who's working in a bar until he gets his music career going again." he smiled looking down at her.

"What do you mean again? Was he in a famous band or something?" she asked looking up at him.

"He was in a band called the Well Hungarians a few years back until he fell on some hard times." he said trying not to say too much.

"I saw them. That's him? He looks so different." she said looking up at him.

"Yeah, but I better let Roger tell you what happened." he said as she pointed to the building to their left.

"OK, well this is me." she said looking up at the building as she rifled through her purse for her keys.

"Listen Adrianna. Roger's been through a lot and it would be unfair of me to tell you. I know he would want you to know, but he really should be the one to tell you." he told her taking the keys to help her open the door.

"I understand Collins. Thank you for everything. Why don't you come upstairs? I need to give you my phone number to give to Roger." she smiled as they started up to the third floor.

"OK Babygirl." he smiled following her up the stairs.


	2. Chapter 2

"Have you called Adrianna yet?" Maureen asked looking up at Roger as she entered the loft.

"Can I finish my morning coffee first?" he asked looking over at her standing at the metal counter.

"Yeah whatever. Are you gonna call her?" she asked looking up at him.

"I don't know Maureen. She just broke up with her boyfriend and things are complicated." he said reaching into the cabinet for his AZT.

"Roger, things don't have to be complicated, you know." Mark said looking over at him as he went to the window seat.

"I don't know if you got the memo, but I'm HIV positive and I'm pretty sure Adrianna's not." he said sitting down.

"You know, it's possible for you to date someone who is negative. You don't have to be alone for the rest of your life." she said looking down at him.

"Yeah, no matter how short that may be." he mumbled turning to look out the window.

"Roger, you're healthy. Stop talking like that." Joanne said looking down at him.

"I'm sorry Jo, but it's true. We don't know how long I'm gonna be here and I don't want anyone to have to watch me die." he said looking up at her.

"Roger, Adrianna likes you. You should really call her." Collins said looking over at him.

"I don't know. I'll think about it." he said looking up as he continued to drink his coffee. As everyone talked Roger just sat on the window seat. He couldn't stop thinking about Adrianna. "I'm gonna go get dressed. I need to go for a walk." he said putting his coffee mug in the sink and going to his room.

"Where's he going?" Joanne asked looking over at Collins and Mark.

"My guess, Adrianna's. I left her address where he can find it." Collins laughed looking over at Roger's door.

"I'll be back later." Roger said putting his jacket on leaving the loft. As he walked around he found himself in front of Adrianna's apartment building. He opened the door and walked up to her apartment and stood outside the door. He paced back and forth in front of the apartment door. He ran his fingers through his hair and took a deep breath before knocking on the door. When the door opened she took his breath away.

"Roger, hi. What are you doing here?" Adrianna asked looking up at him. She was wearing a pink sweatshirt and black shorts. Her hair was up in a pony tail and she wasn't wearing any make up, but she looked beautiful still.

"I... um, I wanted to check on you. You know, make sure you're OK. From last night." he told her looking down at her.

"Yeah, I'm OK. Nothing a few asprins didn't cure. Um... do you wanna come in?" she asked looking up at him smiling.

"Sure. So... um, how's that boyfriend situation doing?" he asked taking his jacket off as he followed her to the living room.

"There is no boyfriend situation. I told you yesterday, I broke up with him. We're through." she said looking up at him.

"He hasn't tried calling you to get you back?" he asked looking down at her surprised.

"No and I wouldn't want him to either. Why do you look so surprised?" she asked sitting on the couch.

"I know if you were my girlfriend and I screwed up that bad, I'd want to do whatever I had to to make it up to you." he said sitting on the couch.

"Yeah well, I guess not all guys are like you Roger. But thanks." she smiled as he sat down.

"Um, I was thinking. We're all going to the Life Cafe later and I was wondering if you wanted to meet us there?" he asked shifting uncomfortably in the chair.

"Roger, are you asking me out?" she asked folding her legs under.

"Yeah, um... I guess I am, but there's something I have to tell you first." he said leaning his elbows on his legs.

"What is it Roger?" she asked looking over at him.

"I'm um... I'm HIV positive." he said looking down at his feet.

"Roger, I'm sorry." she said quietly moving closer to him. "Are you...?" she asked moving closer to him.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm on good meds and my t-cells are really high." he said looking up. He found himself staring into her bright blue eyes.

"Well that's good." she smiled looking into his green eyes. "Is that all you wanted to tell me?" she asked looking over at him.

"You mean, you're not...?" he started as she leaned in to kiss him. It was soft and tender. He loved the way her soft lips felt on his.

"Freaked out? No, I'm not. Roger, I know how you get HIV and I know you don't get it. I'm not afraid of you." she smiled caressing his stubbled cheek.

"Um.. I like you Adrianna." he whispered reaching up to caress her cheek.

"I like you too Roger." she smiled leaning in to kiss him again. This time it was deeper and more passionate.

"Adrianna wait." he said quietly stopping her.

"What's the matter Roger?" she asked looking up at him.

"Maybe we should take this slow. I mean, you're negative and I don't wanna hurt you." he said looking down at her.

"Roger, I know what I'm getting into. I know we have to be careful, but we like each other and I can feel something happening between us." she smiled looking into his green eyes.

"I can feel it too Adrianna." he whispered kissing her again.

"So let's not fight it." she whispered pulling him into a more passionate kiss. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him. She laid back on the couch pulling him on her and their kiss was more passionate. "Roger, why don't we go in the bedroom?" she suggested breathlessly.

"Do you have...?" he started before she interrupted him.

"Yeah, in the bedroom." she smiled looking up at him.

"OK." he smiled lifting her up and carrying her into the bedroom where they made love.

* * *

"Where the hell is he? He's been gone all day." Mark asked pacing the loft.

"Maybe he got lucky." Collins laughed looking up at him.

"That's not funny Collins. What if she got back together with her boyfriend and he's wondering around the city? You know he likes her and you know how he gets." he said looking down at him as the loft door opened. It was Roger and he wasn't alone. Adrianna came in behind him holding his hand.

"Hey Mark, Collins. You remember Adrianna from the last night, right?" he asked smiling down at her.

"Yeah, we remember. Hi Adrianna, it's nice to see you again. How do you feel?" Collins asked looking up at her.

"I'm fine. I took some asprin. Thanks for walking me home last night. I really appreciate it." she smiled looking down at her.

"No problem sweetie. I wouldn't have wanted anything to happen to Roger's girlfriend." he smiled looking up at Roger.

"Yeah, yeah. Listen, we're going to the Life Cafe, are you guys coming?" he asked looking over at them

"Yeah, um can I talk to you Roger?" Mark asked looking over at him.

"Sure. I'll be right back Baby." Roger smiled leaning down to kiss Adrianna before following Mark to his room. "What's up man?" he asked looking over at him.

"You and Adrianna are dating now? What happened to her being on the rebound?" he asked looking over at him.

"Do you believe the jerk didn't ever call her to fight for her? I know if I had a girl like her and I screwed up that bad, I'd be begging for her to forgive me." Roger said looking over at Mark's closed bedroom door.

"I thought things were complicated?" Mark asked looking over at him.

"I thought you said they didn't have to be? Mark, I like her. And yes I did tell her about my HIV and she's OK. I mean, she's negative so we're gonna have to be careful. I'm not gonna let her just walk out of my life." he said looking over at him.

"What about what you were saying this morning about not wanting her to watch you die?" Mark asked looking over at him.

"Mark, I can't think about that every minute of my life. I have to do what I feel and I like Adrianna and she likes me. I thought you'd be happy for me." he said looking over at him.

"I am. I mean, I am happy it's just, I worry about you. I watched you watch Mimi die and I don't want to have to watch Adrianna to watch you die." he said sitting on his bed.

"I'm healthy now and that's all that matters. Now, are you coming to the Life Cafe with me and my girlfriend or not?" he asked looking over at him.

"Yeah, I'm coming. Just gimme a minute." he smiled looking up at him.

"OK. Thanks Mark." he smiled before leaving the room.

"Hey Baby, is everything OK?" she asked looking back at him as she sat next to Collins on the couch.

"Yeah Baby, everything's fine. You wanna see my room?" he asked smiling down at her.

"Yeah, I'd like that." she smiled getting up and taking his hand as he led her to his room. "It's really dark in here." she smiled looking around.

"I like it dark in here." he smiled sweeping her into his arms and kissing her.

"I thought we were going to the Life Cafe." she laughed looking up at him.

"We are. I just wanted to kiss you." he whispered caressing her face with his thumb.

"I like when you kiss me." she laughed wrapping her arms around his neck and holding him close.

"I like kissing you." he whispered burying his face in her hair smelling her strawberry shampoo.

"Come on guys, are we going?" Mark yelled from the living room as he put his coat on.

"Yeah, we're coming Mark." Adrianna called out smiling over at Roger. "We gotta go Baby." she smiled looking up at him.

"But I like being here with you." he whined holding her close.

"I like being here with you too, but we promised your friends we'd go to the Life Cafe with them." she smiled looking into his green eyes.

"OK, let's go." he smiled kissing her again before they left the room.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hi Adrianna, it's nice to see you again." Maureen smiled looking up at Roger and Adrianna.

"Hi Maureen. I'm sorry about last night. I don't usually get drunk like that. I'm actually a light weight when it comes to drinking." she smiled sitting down next to Roger.

"That's OK. You looked like you were having fun though." she laughed looking over at her.

"Yeah, I tend to have a lot of energy when I'm drinking. I dance a lot." she laughed looking up at Roger.

"Don't worry about it Baby." he smiled leaning over to kiss her.

"Baby? What happened to Tiny Dancer?" Joanne teased smiling over at them.

"Yeah, I like that nickname. It's cute." Adrianna smiled looking up at Roger.

"Well you were dancing a lot last night. It was the first thing that popped into my head." he laughed putting his arms around her.

"I like it." she smiled leaning in to kiss him again.

"And I like you." he smiled as the bohemians watched happily. Roger couldn't take his eyes off of Adrianna. She was so beautiful. The way she laughed made him melt. He couldn't believe she was his girlfriend. They sung along to the juke box and laughed. "I'll be right back." he smiled kissing her head before heading off to the juke box.

"What is he doing?" Adrianna asked looking back at him.

"With Roger, you never know." Collins laughed looking over at her as Roger returned to the table.

"What did you do?" she asked looking up at him.

"You'll see." he smiled putting his arms around her.

"Oh my God Roger, did you play this?" she asked looking up at him as the song started.

"Yeah, I played it for you." he smiled as she smiled up at him.

"Well now you know, we have to dance, right?" she smiled taking his hand.

"Yeah, I know." he smiled following her to the dance floor as they began to slow dance to Elton John's Tiny Dancer.

"Don't they look so cute together?" Maureen said holding Joanne's hand.

"Yeah, they really do." Joanne agreed smiling up at her.

"Thank you for coming over to my place this morning." she smiled looking up at him.

"I just wanted to make sure you were OK." he smiled holding her closer to him.

"I wanted to see you again. I couldn't get you out of my mind last night." she smiled before he leaned down to kiss her.

"I couldn't get you out of my mind either." he smiled before holding her in his arms.

"Thank you for playing that song for me. No one's ever done anything like this for me before." she smiled looking up at him as the song ended.

"Too bad. You deserve the world." he smiled before leaning down to pick her up and kiss her.

"Come on you two. The song's over." Collins called out as Roger and Adrianna laughed.

"My friends are so annoying." Roger laughed looking over at her.

"No they're not. They're cute. You know, Collins took such good care of me last night when he walked me home. And he was talking you up the whole way." she smiled looking up at him as he put her down.

"Oh he was, huh?" he smiled as they walked hand in hand back over to the table.

"Yeah he was. He was so cute." she smiled looking up at him.

"You were talking me up to Adrianna last night?" Roger laughed looking over at Collins.

"Yeah well, someone had to. I haven't seen you smile this much in... ever." Collins laughed as Roger and Adrianna sat down.

"I always knew you liked me, you big lug." Roger laughed with his arm around Adrianna.

"Don't let it go to your head rock star. I just got sick of seeing you mope around." he smiled as Adrianna looked up at Roger.

"Speaking of rock star, when are you gonna get a band together?" she asked looking up at him.

"I gotta write songs first." he said looking down at her.

"You'll do it. It just takes time." she smiled leaning up to kiss him. As they continued hanging out and talking Roger and Adrianna kept smiling at each other.

* * *

"So, what do you want to do now?" Roger asked standing outside the Life Cafe leaning against the wall standing over Adrianna.

"I don't know. I know, I want to get you alone." she smiled pulling him by his jacket to kiss him.

"I know I want to get you alone too." he smiled leaning in to kiss her longer and harder.

"So why don't we go back to my place where we can be alone?" she suggested smiling up at him.

"I like that idea. I need to stop by the loft and pick up some stuff first." he smiled caressing her face.

"Your meds?" she asked looking up at him.

"Among other things, yeah." he said looking down at her.

"So, why don't we go to the loft and pick up some stuff?" she smiled leaning up to kiss him again before they headed to the loft.

* * *

"Baby, I gotta go to work." Roger whined as Adrianna held him in her arms.

"No. You're not allowed to go." she pouted looking up at him.

"I'm sorry Aid, but I gotta go." he said looking down at her.

"But it's sunday. I was hoping we could spend the day in bed and maybe have a picnic in the park." she smiled leaning her chin on his muscular chest.

"Aid, that sounds amazing. But I gotta go." he said leaning down to kiss her.

"OK, but can I go with you?" she asked looking up at him.

"Of course you can." he smiled looking down at her.

"Maybe we can call Mark, Collins, Maureen and Joanne to meet us there. I'd like to spend more time with them." she smiled sitting up to look at him.

"Oh yeah?" he smiled caressing her upper arm.

"Yeah, I do. I mean, I'm your girlfriend and they're your best friends." she smiled looking over at him.

"OK, I'd really like that." he smiled looking over at her.

"Roger, I like you and I want to be in your life. Every aspect of it." she smiled as he sat up in the bed.

"I want you in my life too." he smiled leaning up to kiss her.

"Good, now come one. We have to get ready to go." she smiled jumping out of bed excitedly.

"Where are you going?" he asked watching her.

"In the shower." she smiled turning to wink at him.

"Right behind you Baby." he laughed reaching over to the nightstand for a condom before following her.

* * *

"Roger, you are so amazing. How is it you didn't have a girlfriend before me?" she asked looking up at him as he washed her hair.

"I don't know. I guess no one got my attention until you." he smiled helping her rinse her hair.

"Well I'm glad about that." she smiled turning around wrapping her arms around his neck as the hot water washed over their naked bodies.

"Me too Aid." he smiled kissing her wet hair.

"OK, now you really have to get ready for work." she smiled looking up at him.

"You know Aid, this has been the greatest weekend. I'm glad I have you in my life." he smiled leaning down to kiss her.

"I'm glad I have you in my life too." she smiled holding him close to her.


	4. Chapter 4

"So Mark, let me ask you something." Adrianna asked smiling at Roger from across the bar as he smiled at her.

"What's up Adrianna?" he asked looking over at her.

"Does Roger always fall this hard for a girl after a month and a half?" she asked looking down at her beer.

"No he doesn't." he smiled looking up at her.

"So why me?" she asked looking up at him.

"I don't know. I mean, I know he was pissed that your old boyfriend didn't try to call and get you back." he smiled drinking his beer.

"Yeah well he was a jerk anyway." she said looking over at Roger who was talking to Bill and Al.

"And Roger felt you deserved better than that." he said looking over at her.

"I got the greatest guy a girl could ask for." she said looking over at Roger.

"And I know he liked your personality. You were fun." he smiled looking over at her.

"I liked the way he was taking care of me." she smiled drinking her beer.

"He's very protective of women. He doesn't like to see them disrespected." he said as Roger came over to them.

"How's my Tiny Dancer?" he asked looking down at her before leaning down to kiss her.

"I'm good. Do you wanna dance with me?" she smiled looking up at him.

"I would love to." he smiled reaching down for her hand.

"Excuse me Mark, but you know that when my boyfriend wants to dance I better take advantage of it." she laughed getting up.

"I hear ya." he laughed watching them dance in the middle of the bar.

"Aren't they the cutest couple you've ever seen? I think they're even cuter than we were." Maureen gushed rushing over to Mark.

"Yeah, they are." Mark smiled looking over at them as they danced as if they were the only people in the room.

* * *

"Oh shit." Adrianna said opening the mail.

"What's the matter Baby?" Roger asked turning the water off in the kitchen.

"My mom's getting married. Again. Nice way to find out, huh?" she asked handing him the invitation.

"You and your mom aren't close I take it." he asked looking down at the invitation.

"Yeah, you can say that. She lives in a different world then I do." she said sitting on the couch.

"Are you OK?" he asked sitting on the couch next to her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just can't believe she didn't have the decency this time to even call me and warn me." she said looking over at him.

"Are you gonna go?" he asked looking over at her.

"I don't know. Will you go with me?" she asked looking over at her.

"Of course I'll go with you Aid. I wouldn't make you go in there alone." he said wrapping his arms around him.

"Thank you Roger. You have no idea how much I need you there." she smiled leaning her head into his chest.

"Baby, in the last month and a half, have I ever let you down when you needed me?" he asked looking down at her.

"No, you haven't." she smiled leaning up to kiss him before they leaned back on the couch.

"And I don't plan on abandoning you now." he smiled kissing her head.

* * *

"Where are you guys going?" Collins asked looking over at Roger an Adrianna who were sitting on the couch.

"Florida. My mom's getting married again and I need back up." she smiled as Roger sat with his arms around her.

"What do you need back up for? Is your mom that brutal?" Maureen asked looking down at her.

"Yeah well, I'm almost 30 and I'm not married and she thinks I'm wasting my time here in the city. She's from the the high class world and doesn't see why I insist on living in a 3rd floor walk up in New York City." she said looking up at Roger.

"Don't worry Baby. I don't think you're wasting your time." he smiled leaning down to kiss her.

"I don't think I am either, but my mom was on her second husband by the time she was my age and she's just old fashioned. She doesn't like that I don't have a man to take care of me." she said picking at her cuticles.

"Who says?" Roger said looking down at her.

"Well I know you take care of me, but to be fair, I take care of you too." she smiled leaning her head back to look up at him.

"So. What's wrong with that?" he said looking down at her.

"Nothing. At least not for us. My mom is just the kind of person who needs someone to take care of her. She always was." she said looking up at him.

"Don't worry Baby. Everything is gonna be OK. I'll protect you from her." he smiled kissing her head.

"I know. I'm just not looking forward to it." she said looking up at him.

"When do you guys leave?" Joanne asked looking over at them.

"First thing tomorrow morning." Adrianna answered looking over at her.

"We better get home Baby." Roger said ask everyone looked over at them in shock.

"Home?" Mark asked looking over at her.

"It's just a figure of speech Mark. Chill out." Roger laughed looking over at him.

"Mark, Roger did not move in with me. Trust me. He would never move out without talking to you." Adrianna said looking over at him.

"No, I'd be fine with it. It's just, it came as a shock. The way he put it, that's all." he said stumbing over his words.

"Mark, breathe sweetie. I'm afraid you're gonna have a stroke if you don't." Adrianna laughed looking over at him.

"Sorry Aid. I didn't mean to sound like I didn't want you guys to move in together." he said cracking a smile.

"We know Mark. Don't worry about it. We're not ready for that yet." she said looking up at him.

"Who says?" Roger said quietly as Adrianna looked up at him.

"What?" Adrianna asked looking up at Roger confused.

"Who says we're not ready for that yet?" he asked looking down at her.

"You want to move in with me?" she asked looking over at her.

"Or you move in with me. But yeah, I mean I've been staying at your place ever since we started going out, so why not?" he asked looking down at her.

"You're serious?" she asked smiling up at him.

"Yeah, I'm serious Aid. I want us to move in together." he smiled caressing her shoulders.

"OK." she smiled looking up at him.

"Really?" he asked smiling down at her.

"Yeah really." she laughed looking up at him. "If that's OK with you Marky." she asked looking over at him with tears in her eyes.

"Of course it's OK with me." he smiled looking over at them.

"OK, so I guess we live together now." she laughed wrapping her arms around Roger's neck.

"I love you Aid." he whispered kissing her head.

"Oh my God." Maureen gasped putting her hand over her mouth.

"You... what?" she asked surprised.

"I love you Adrianna." he smiled looking down at her.

"I love you too Roger." she smiled leaning up to kiss him.

"Isn't this an interesting turn of events?" Collins smiled looking over at them.


	5. Chapter 5

"Ugh, are you ready?" Adrianna asked looking up at Roger as they stood outside the massive house.

"Your mom lives here?" he asked looking up at the house. It was a mansion.

"Yeah, my father was some sort of tycoon. I grew up here." she said looking up at him.

"Wow. This place if huge." he said still looking up at the house.

"Yeah, one of many places where my mother thought she would be happy." she said taking his hand as they began walking into the house.

"Adrianna, I am so happy you're here." a young woman called out rushing over to her.

"Hi Liv." she smiled hugging the young woman. "Liv, this is my boyfriend Roger. Roger, this is my sister Olivia." she said looking up at Roger.

"Hi Roger, it's great to meet you. Mom is so glad you decided to come." Olivia said looking over at her.

"So tell me about this new guy." Adrianna asked looking over at Olivia.

"He's great Aid. He treats her like a princess." Olivia said looking over at her.

"Oh yeah, that's all she needs." she said laughing looking up at Roger.

"Adrianna Maria." an older woman called out rushing down the stairs.

"Hi mom." Adrianna said looking up as the woman came down the stairs.

"I'm so happy you're here. Now who's this?" she asked smiling up at Roger.

"Mom, this is my boyfriend Roger. Roger, this is my mom Grace." she said introducing them.

"Hi Grace, it's really nice to meet you." Roger smiled looking down at the woman.

"It's very nice to meet you too Roger." she smiled looking up at him. "Are you kids hungry? I can have Consuela make you something." she said smiling up at them.

"No, we're good mom. We ate on the plane." Adrianna said holding Roger's hand.

"Well why don't you go up to your room and get settled in? We have a busy couple of days." Grace said looking over at them.

"What do you mean a busy couple of days mom? I thought the wedding was tomorrow." Adrianna asked looking up at her mother.

"Well yes, the wedding is tomorrow but this evening we have the rehearsal party this evening and there are events planned for the weekend." she said smiling up at her.

"What kind of events mom?" she asked looking up at her.

"Well we have a tennis match, a benefit, things like that." she smiled looking over at her.

"Mom, you know how much I hate that stuff. I can't believe you blindsided me like that." Adrianna said looking up at Roger.

"Well you can't expect me to get married without some fan fare, can you?" Grace said looking over at her.

"Mom, you get married every few years. I mean, you change husbands more than you change cars. It's not a big deal." she yelled running up to her room.

"I'm sorry Roger Adrianna tends to be a little dramatic. She hates getting dressed up. Maybe you can speak with her. I can't very well have a wedding weekend without my daughters in attendance." she said looking up at Roger.

"I'll talk to her Grace, but I can't make her do something she doesn't want to do." he said picking up his and Adrianna's bag and starting up the stairs.

"I'll show you to Adrianna's room." Olivia said going ahead of Roger as they went up the stairs. "Sorry about my mom. She likes attention. It always made Adrianna crazy. She hates all the attention." she said as she stopped in front of a door.

"Thanks Olivia. I'll talk to her." he said opening the door. When he entered the room, it was huge. It had a king sized bed and a doll house in the corner. The wall paper was light blue with pink flowerson it.

"I'm sorry about my mom Roger. She's such an attention whore. It's not enough she's having this big circus of a wedding, she has to have an entire weekend of stuff going on." she said as she sat on the window seat.

"It's OK Baby. She's just happy. I think maybe you were too hard on her." he said looking down at her before sitting down.

"Roger, you can't be serious? You do know that you're gonna have to wear a tuxedo all weekend, right?" she asked looking up at him.

"So what. It'll be fun." he smiled moving closer to her putting his arms around her.

"Oh yeah, as much fun as a root canal." she said leaning in to him.

"Aid, come on. What is so wrong with your mom wanting to celebrate with her daughters?" he asked looking down at her as she leaned back against the wall.

"Yeah, you never saw the circus my mother makes out of a simple tennis match and a benefit and then if I remember correctly she's gonna throw a black tie ball and all of her rich friends are gonna be staring at us wondering what you do for a living and how much money you have and if we're gonna get married or if we're just playing around. She used to do it all the time. That's why I got out. I couldn't take it anymore." she said looking up at him.

"So I'll tell them I'm a musician and I may not be rich, but I love you and I wanna marry you one day." he said kissing her head before she sat up to look at him.

"You wanna what?" she asked looking up at him.

"I wanna marry you one day. I love you Aid." he smiled reaching up to caress her face.

"Roger, we've only been dating 3 months and we just moved in together and I mean..." she rambled before he put his fingers over her lips to quiet her.

"Aid, I love you. I'm not asking you to marry me right now. I'm just saying I can see myself marrying you. I don't want to live without you in my life." he whispered leaning in to her.

"I love you too Roger." she smiled with his fingers still over her lips.

"That's all I care about Aid. You're all I care about." he smiled taking his fingers off of her lips and replacing them with his own.

"Adrianna? It's mom, can I come in?" Grace asked through the door.

"You really want to do the high class circus this weekend?" Adrianna asked looking over at Roger.

"Yeah I do. I'll do anything for you." he smiled taking her into his arms.

"OK fine. But when we get married, I want to elope." she whispered holding him close.

"Deal." he smiled kissing her head.

"Come in mom." she called out as they sat on the windew seat together.

"Do you see? I left your room just the way you left it." Grace said looking around the bedroom.

"Yeah mom, I see. Listen, Roger and I will go to the events this weekend. But I don't want everyone gawking at us." she said looking up at her.

"Fair enough. I'm just happy to have both of my daughters here. I haven't seen you a while. You look really good Adrianna." she smiled sitting on Adrianna's bed.

"Well, Roger and I take care of each other." she smiled craning her head to look up at Roger.

"How long have you two been dating?" Grace asked looking over at them.

"3 months. I broke up with this stock broker I was seeing because he was cheating on me and I went to this bar in my neighborhood and Roger was tending bar there. We got to talking and started dating the next day." she smiled looking up at Roger.

"So you're a bartender? That's interesting." Grace said uncomfortably looking over at them.

"I'm a musician actually, but I'm kind of between bands right now so I tend bar to pay the bills." he smiled proudly as he played with Adrianna's long blond hair.

"That's nice." Grace smiled seeing how happy Adrianna was. She had never seen her daughter so happy. She was happy for her, even if she was dating a bartender.

"So when am I gonna meet this guy you're marrying?" Adrianna asked smiling at her mother.

"In a little while. So you two better get ready." Grace smiled looking over at them before getting up from the bed.

"What do you mean get ready?" Adrianna asked looking up at her.

"The rehearsal is in a little while." she smiled looking over at them. "You two do have something to wear, right?" she asked looking over at them.

"Yeah mom, we have one outfit. What are we gonna wear to the wedding and to all of the events?" she asked sitting up.

"Don't worry about that. We'll take care of it in the morning. Right now, get ready." she smiled before leaving the room.

"I have a feeling she's gonna pick out our outfits for this weekend." Roger smiled looking down at her.

"You're feeling would be correct. But you're the one who wants to do this." she smiled looking up at him.

"I do. I think it'll be fun." he smiled kissing her head.

"OK Mr. Davis, we better get ready." she smiled getting up from the window seat.

"It's gonna be fun Aid. You'll see." he smiled looking up at her.

"Yeah, OK." she smiled as she got hers and Roger's clothes out of their bags.


	6. Chapter 6

"OK, now don't be mean, how do I look?" Adrianna asked coming out of the dressing room in her bedroom.

"Why would I be mean? You look amazing Aid." he smiled looking down at her with tears in his eyes.

"Really?" she asked looking down at her maroon dress.

"Yeah you do. I've never seen anyone look so beautiful. Am I really gonna be going into the party with you on my arm?" he asked staring down at her.

"Roger stop. I'm just wearing a dress." she laughed looking up at him.

"No way, that dress is wearing you." he smiled wrapping his arms around her waist.

"We have to go Roger. My mom's gonna be pounding on our door any minute now." she smiled looking up at him.

"You just look so beautiful Aid. I want you all to myself before we go down there and everyone is looking at you." he smiled leaning down to kiss her.

"Trust me Baby, no one's gonna be looking at me but you. My mom'll make sure of that." she smiled as Roger held her in his arms.

"Good, more for me." he smiled as there was a knock at the door.

"There she is." she laughed looking up at him.

"I love you Aid." he smiled looking down at her.

"I love you too Roger." she smiled leaning up to kiss him before they opened the door.

"Adrianna, Roger you two look great. You're gonna over shadow me and Ned." she smiled looking up at them.

"Yeah right mom. When is Ned gonna be here anyway?" Adrianna asked as Olivia came down the long hallway.

"Aid, you look so beautiful." she smiled looking over at her.

"So do you, wow. Nice boobs." Adrianna laughed looking over at her.

"Hey, don't knock my boobs. They were my 30th birthday present." she laughed looking over at her.

"Well Adrianna got the nice boobs in the family. Poor Olivia needed a little help." Grace smiled looking over at Adrianna.

"Thanks for that mom." Adrianna laughed burying her face in Roger's chest.

"Well I like your boobs the way they are." he laughed looking down at her.

"Oh yeah, he's gonna fit right in." Olivia laughed looking up at Roger.

"Can we stop talking about boobs and go downstairs please?" Adrianna asked looking up at them.

"Sorry Baby, but you do have amazing..." he started before she interrupted him.

"OK Roger. Thank you." she yelled laughing as they went down stairs. The house was filled with people already and they were all waiting for Grace.

"Adrianna dear, you look so beautiful and who is this handsome man?" an older woman asked looking up at Roger.

"Hi Mrs. James. Thank you. This is my boyfriend Roger Davis. He's a bartender up in New York." she smiled looking up at Roger who was stunned.

"Well that's nice dear. It's a pleasure to meet you Roger." Mrs. James smiled before moving on.

"Aid, why did you do that?" he asked looking down at her as she took a glass of champagne from a tray a waiter who was passing by was carrying.

"Roger, I'm not ashamed of you. I just don't want my mother telling everyone that you're a prince or the heir to some phony fortune for her snobby friends." she said looking up at him.

"But Aid, does that have to be the way you say it? This is my boyfriend Roger and he's a bartender?" he asked looking down at her.

"Roger, why does it bother you so much that people know you're a bartender? It's honest work." she said looking up at him.

"It doesn't bother me, I'm just saying you don't have to tell everyone I'm a bartender right off the bat." he said looking down at her.

"I'm sorry Roger. I didn't know it would bother you. I won't tell everyone you're a bartender." she smiled leaning up to kiss him.

"No, I'm sorry Aid. I'm over reacting. It's just, it's embarrassing with your mom's hot shot rich friends." he said rubbing the back of his neck.

"Roger, you have nothing to be embarrassed of." she said looking up at him.

"I know Baby. I just want to give you the world." he said wrapping his arms around her.

"You've already given me the world. I have the best boyfriend in the world who loves me and who treats me like a princess." she smiled looking up at him as she leaned up to kiss him.

"I do love you Aid." he smiled as Grace approached them walking with a middle aged man.

"I love you too Roger." she smiled looking up at him.

"Adrianna, I'd like you to meet Ned. Ned darling, this is my baby Adrianna and her boyfriend Roger." Grace smiled looking up at Ned.

"Hi Adrianna. Grace has told me so much about you. It's very nice to meet you both." Ned smiled looking up at them.

"It's nice to meet you too Ned." Roger smiled holding his hand out to shake Ned's hand.

"So Grace tells me you live in New York City. What's that like?" Ned asked smiling down at Adrianna.

"It's fun. I'm a secretary at a brokerage firm." she smiled looking up at Roger.

"And I'm a bartender. Actually I'm a musician but I'm kind of between bands right now." he smiled looking down at Adrianna.

"That's nice. I'd love to hear your stuff sometime." he smiled looking up at him.

"I'd like that Ned. Thanks. So how did you and Grace meet?" he asked looking over at them.

"We met at a benefit for the whales or tuna. I forget. How did you and Adrianna meet?" he asked looking up at him.

"We met in a bar. I had just broken up with the stock broker I was dating and I needed to get drunk, so I went into a bar and there he was, behind the bar. He took care of me."' she smiled looking up at Roger.

"How long have you two been dating?" Ned asked as Adrianna drank her champagne.

"3 months. We just moved in together." she smiled looking up at Roger.

"You're living together? You never told me that." Grace said looking over at Adrianna.

"Mom, I didn't think it would matter. I'm 27 years old, I didn't think I had to run it by you." Adrianna said looking over at her mother.

"Excuse me darling." Grace said walking away from them.

"Excuse me Baby." she said looking up at Roger chasing after Grace. "Mom, what's the matter with you?" she asked looking over at her.

"You are living with him? Adrianna, what are you thinking?" she asked standing in the kitchen.

"I'm thinking I love him and I wanna be with him. Mom, he treats me like I'm the only girl that matters." she said looking over at her.

"And he's a bartender. Adrianna, you can do better then him." Grace said looking over at her.

"Mom, I never bought into this world you were always trying to throw me into. I like being a secretary and I like living in the city and I love Roger. Bartender or not. Now you can either accept him or we no longer have anything to share." Adrianna said walking out the back door into the yard.

"I want to marry Adrianna, Grace. Now I may not be rich and be able to give her everything you can, but I love her and I'm gonna spend the rest of my life trying to give her the world." he said entering the kitchen after hearing the conversation between Grace and Adrianna.

"Roger, you need to understand. Everything I've done has been for the good of my daughters. I just want what's best for them." Grace said looking up at Roger.

"Yeah well, too bad you're not gonna realize until it's too late that I am what's best for her." he said leaving out the same door Adrianna did. "Baby, are you OK?" he asked approaching her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just knew coming here was a mistake. She's never gonna realize that there's more to life than having a fancy name and a lot of money in the bank." she said looking back at him wiping her eyes.

"Coming here was not a mistake. Your mother just wants what's best for you." he said looking down at her as he caressed her shoulders.

"Are you saying you agree with what she said?" she asked looking up at him.

"Hell no. I love you and I know I make you happy. I wanna make you happy for the rest of my life." he said leaning down to her.

"And I wanna make you happy for the rest of your life. However long that may be." she smiled leaning up to kiss him.

"Aid, can I talk to you a minute please?" Olivia asked standing by the back door.

"Liv, what's the use? Mom'll never accept my decision to live my own life." she said looking over at her.

"Roger, can I talk to my sister please?" Olivia asked looking up at him.

"Are you gonna be OK Baby?" he asked looking down at her.

"Yeah, I'm OK. I'll be in in a minute." she said looking up at him.

"I love you Aid. I'll be right there, OK?" he smiled looking down at her.

"I love you too Roger." she smiled leaning up to kiss him as she watched him going into the house.

"So did mom tell you? Me and Roger are living together and she doesn't approve." she said sitting on the lawn chair.

"Yeah she did. But since when do you care what mom approves of? You're the one who got out." she said looking down at her.

"Yeah, and I was stupid enough to come back. And I brought Roger with me. Right in the crossfire." she said looking up at her.

"Aid, you love Roger, right?" she asked sitting next to her.

"Yeah I do. I've never loved anyone the way I love Roger." she smiled looking over at her.

"And I can tell he loves you the same way. So what do you care what mom thinks?" she asked looking over at her.

"Because I need money Liv. I mean a lot of it. Money only mom has." she said turning her head back to look at Roger who was sitting in the kitchen waiting for her.

"What do you need money for? Are you OK? Are you in trouble?" she asked worried.

"Roger's HIV positive Liv and I don't want him to die. I want get him the best medical care money can buy." she said holding back tears.

"I'm sorry Aid. Is there anything we can do?" she asked looking over at her.

"Yeah, I need money. I mean he's healthy now, but how long is that gonna last? I don't wanna lost him Liv." she said starting to cry.

"You won't lose him Aid. I'll help you, even if mom won't. Does she know?" she asked putting her arms around her.

"No. And I don't want you to tell her either. You see how she acted when she found out he was a bartender and we moved in together. This is gonna make her flip out." she said looking up at her wiping her eyes.

"Don't worry sweetie. I won't tell her anything. Everything's gonna be OK." she said looking down at her.

"I'm sorry Liv. I just want to grow old and gray with the man I'm gonna marry." she said looking up at her.

"Marry?" she asked smiling at her.

"Yeah, I mean he hasn't asked me yet, but he said he wants to marry me one day and I want to marry him too." she smiled looking up at her.

"I'm so happy for you Aid. Roger's a great guy. And he looks great in a suit." she smiled looking over at her.

"He looks better out of a suit." Adrianna laughed looking up at her.

"Adrianna." Olivia laughed looking over at her.

"What? My boyfriends hot. Can I help that?" she laughed looking back at Roger.

"Yeah, well he is hot. Are you OK now?" she asked looking over at her.

"Yeah, I'm OK. I really should talk to mom though. I'm not gonna let her make Roger feel like he doesn't deserve to be here." she said looking over at her.

"Why don't you let me do that sweetie? You're my little sister. It's the least I can do for you. I've never seen you so happy and in love before." she smiled looking over at her.

"I've never been so happy and in love before." she smiled as Olivia kissed her head.

"I'm happy for you Aid. You deserve this. Roger's a great guy." she smiled waving Roger back out.

"He really is Liv. He's the greatest guy in the world." she smiled as Roger came out.

"I see that sweetie. Why don't you come back in and party? I'm gonna talk to mom for you." she smiled looking up at Roger.

"OK. Just give us a minute, OK Liv?" she said looking up at her.

"OK sweetie." she smiled as she got up and Roger sat down.

"Is everything OK Baby?" he asked looking down at her.

"Yeah Roger. Everything's fine." she smiled leaning in to hug him as she looked over at the house. She didn't want to tell anyone in her family that Roger was positive, because she didn't think it was anyone's business, but her and Olivia were always close. Her father was Grace's first husband and Adrianna's father was her second husband. Olivia's father wasn't around much so Adrianna's father was there for her. He set up trust funds for both of the girls when Adrianna was born and before he died. But Adrianna never wanted any part of that world, so she just left. She signed her trust fund over to her mother and her sister and left.

"Roger, can I speak to my daughter in private?" Grave asked coming out of the house.

"Anything you can say to me, you can say in front of Roger, mom." she said looking up at her.

"OK, I deserve that. Adrianna, I'm sorry. I wasn't fair to you or Roger. You've always been my independent child. I never knew how to handle you. I mean, you got out of college and you ran off to the city and we didn't hear from you for 3 years. And then we find out you're working as a secretary. I just want what's best for you. I always did. And if you say that Roger's what's best for you, then I'm sorry for the way I acted." she said looking down at her.

"Mom, Roger and I are in love. I would like it if you accepted him, but it's not all that important to me if you do." she said looking up at her.

"Of course I accept him sweetie. I see how much you love him." she said looking down at her.

"Thanks mom." she said looking up at her.

"Now, why don't you two come back inside?" she smiled looking down at her.

"OK Grace. We'll be in in a minute." Roger smiled looking up at her.

"Thank you. I'm sorry Roger. I never should have acted the way I did. It wasn't fair of me." she said looking down at him.

"Thanks Grace. That means a lot to me." he smiled looking up at her.

"OK. I'll see you kids inside." she smiled turning to go inside.

"Do you think she means it?" he asked looking down at her.

"Yeah. The one thing you need to know about my mother is that she never says anything she doesn't mean. If she says she accepts you, she does. Not that it matters to me because I love you anyway. I just don't like her treating you like you aren't good enough for me." she said looking up at him.

"I know I'm not good enough for you Aid. But I like making you happy." he smiled leanind in to kiss her.

"Roger, you are more than good enough for me. I've dated these rich jerks my mom wanted me to date and they never treated me half as well as you treat me." she smiled caressing his face.

"We should go back inside." he said kissing her again.

"OK Baby." she smiled as they got up and went back inside.


	7. Chapter 7

"Aid, are you up?" Roger asked laying in bed in the middle of the night.

"Yeah, I'm up. What's the matter Baby?" she asked turning to look at him.

"I can't sleep. It's weird sleeping in a mansion." he said looking around.

"Roger, it's the same as sleeping at our place." she said looking upat him.

"It's definitely not the same as our place." he said looking around.

"Yeah well, I'd rather be sleeping at our place than here." she said sitting up.

"Baby, tell me what's the matter? Why do you hate it so much here?" he asked looking up at her.

"I don't know. I mean I was raised in this life, but it's not for me. I went to formals and benefits and balls and petty, superficial events like that and I always hated it. When I got out of college, I couldn't wait to get out of here." she said looking up at him.

"What did you go to college for?" he asked looking up at her.

"I majored in English. Creative writing, stuff like that. It was the only thing I could do without having to worry about everyone watching my every move, you know? Making sure my dress was perfect, my hair, my manners. Everything" she said looking over at him.

"I'm sorry Aid." he said looking over at her.

"It's OK. That's why I had to get out of here. My mom kept trying to marry me off to some rich guy and I didn't want to be married. I just wanted to get out of here, you know?" she said looking over at him starting to cry.

"Aid, it's OK." he whispered taking her into his arms.

"Roger, my mother never cared about what I wanted. All she cared about was what people thought and me having someone to take care of me and I don't need anyone to take care of me. I can take care of myself. And I think I've been doing pretty damn good until now." she said looking up at him.

"Yes you have Aid. But you don't have to take care of yourself. You have me. You know I would never let anyone hurt you." he said leaning down to kiss her head.

"I know Roger." she said looking up at him as he wiped her eyes.

"I love you Adrianna. I wish to God I didn't have this damn disease in me." he said looking into her bright blue eyes.

"But you do Roger and we can't change anything. I love you with or without this disease. With all my heart." she said looking up at him.

"I know Aid." he smiled leaning down to kiss her.

"Come on." she smiled getting out of the bed.

"Where are we going?" he asked as she took his hand and helped him up.

"To the kitchen. Liv always keeps twinkies in the cabinet above the refrigerator." she smiled leading him out of the room.

"Should we be going down there?" he asked quietly looking around.

"Roger, it's my mom's house. We can do anything we want." she laughed running down the stairs.

"Anything?" he asked looking down at her.

"Yeah, anything." she smiled as he rushed up behind her and picked her up.

"Roger, where are we going?" she asked wrapping her arms around his neck.

"The pool." he whispered burying his face in her neck.

"But we don't have our suits on." she smiled looking over at him.

"I know." he said seductively before kissing her passionately.

"Mhmm Roger. I love you." she smiled looking up at him as he put her down.

"I love you too Aid." he smiled before they took their clothes off and jumped in the pool naked.

"This is turning out to be the greatest vacation I've ever been on." she smiled holding him around his neck.

"Me too Baby." he smiled kissing her.

"Roger, thank you for coming with me." she said as he held her in his arms.

"There's no place else I would rather be." he said leaning in to kiss her again.

"And thanks for dealing with my mom. She's not the easiest person." she said looking over at him.

"Don't worry about it Baby. I'm madly in love with her daughter. I'm willing to do anything to prove to her that I love you and I may not be a rich man, but I do deserve to have you in my life." he said holding her in his arms.

"From what I see, you're the richest man in the world." she smiled kissing him.

"Maybe we should go back upstairs." he suggested looking into her eyes.

"Why?" she asked starting to kiss him again.

"Aid, we don't have any condoms." he whispered stopping her.

"So." she whispered looking into his green eyes.

"But Adrianna..." he started before she kissed him again.

"Roger, I love you and I don't care. I know the risk of us having unprotected sex and I don't care." she said looking up at him as he pulled away from her.

"Aid, how could you say that." he asked looking over at her.

"Roger, I love you. Your life is my life. I'm in this for the long haul. I'm not going anywhere." she said looking over at him.

"Aid, I'm not gonna put your life at risk. I swore I would never do anything to hurt you and I won't. I can't." he said getting out of the pool putting his pajamas back on, his body still wet from the pool.

"You're not hurting me Roger. I wanna be with you for the rest of our lives." she said looking up at him from the pool.

"Adrianna please. Don't ask me to do this. You can't ask me to do this." he said sitting on a lounge chair next to the pool.

"Baby, I'm not asking you to infect me. I just want to make love to you without something between us." she said looking up at him.

"Yeah, and that's asking me to infect you and I can't do it Aid." he said running his fingers through his hair before burying his face in his hands.

"Roger, I'm not afraid of you. I never were. I love you." she said looking up at him.

"I love you too Aid. Don't make me infect you. Please." he begged looking over at her with tears in his eyes.

"I'm sorry Roger. I really am." she said getting out of the pool before wrapping a towel around her and holding him in her arms.

"Aid, I don't want you to get sick. I don't want to have to watch you die too." he cried into her bare, wet shoulder.

"I'm so sorry Roger." she cried as they held each other in their arms.

"Adrianna, I watched Mimi die and I don't want to watch you die too. I don't want to hurt you. Don't make me hurt you Aid. I love you too much to hurt you." he rambled on crying.

"I know Roger. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry." she cried wiping his wet face with her hands.

"I love you Aid. I love you so much." he told her taking her face into his hands.

"I love you so much too Roger. I want to be able to save you, but I'm so scared that I can't." she said looking at him.

"You already did save me Aid. I was so depressed and closed off from losing Mimi and then you came into the bar and I fell for you. Right there and then. You opened my heart and got me to live again." Roger said as his green met her blue eyes.

"You saved me too Roger." she said looking at him.

"Come on Baby. Let's go back upstairs." he suggested wiping his eyes.

"OK. I'll be up in a minute. I just need to gather up my clothes and straighten up down here." she said holding his face in her hands.

"Do you want help Aid?" he asked looking over at her.

"No, it's OK. I'll only be a couple of minutes. I'll be right behind you." she said wiping her face and eyes. As he went into the house through the kitchen she sat on the chair watching him. She loved him so much and didn't want him to die of this disease. She didn't want to have to watch him die. Seeing him hurting or sick would kill her. When she got up and looked around she cried again. How could her family have all this and she couldn't help him live longer.

"Adrianna. Are you OK?" Grace asked looking out the kitchen door watching her daughter.

"Mom, how long have you been standing there?" she asked looking up at her wiping her eyes.

"Just a minute or so. Are you OK sweetie? Why are you upset?" she asked walking over to her.

"Yeah mom. I'm fine. I'm just thinking about things. I'll be OK." she said looking over at her.

"Is everything OK with you and Roger?" she asked watching her pick up her clothes.

"Yeah mom, everything's great with me and Roger. It's nothing mom, really?" she asked looking up at her.

"Is there something wrong with you or Roger?" she asked bluntly looking down at her.

"Mom, we were just down here swimming and we started talking. We're fine." she insisted looking over at her.

"Adrianna, you know you can tell me anything and I'll understand. I'm not as out of touch with the real world as you may think." she pushed looking over at her.

"Roger's HIV positive mom. I love him and I'm gonna lose him anyway." she said looking back at her as tears streamed down her face.

"I'm so sorry sweetie. How?" she asked looking down at her.

"It doesn't matter mom. All that matters is that he's HIV positive and I can't save him. There's nothing that can save him." she cried as Grace put her arms around her daughter.

"I'm sorry Adrianna. Is he on medication?" she asked holding her in her arms.

"Yeah, he's on AZT and his viral load and t-cells are good." she said holding her mother.

"Are you OK? I mean, you're not..." she asked looking over at her.

"No mom, I'm not positive. I told you, he takes care of me. He would never allow me to be exposed." she said pulling back from her.

"I'm just asking Adrianna. You're my daughter. I worry about you." she said as Adrianna walked away from her.

"Mom, whatever you think of Roger, he would never ever hurt me. He would rather die than hurt me." she said looking over at her.

"I don't think badly of Roger. I know you think I'm such a snob that I cannot see how great he is for you because he's not rich. Do I wish you felt this way about a man with more means? Yes. Am I glad to see you as happy as you are? Of course. I know you feel such contempt for this life. The life you were brought up in. Nice clothes, the best schools, the best of everything. But to see you so happy with Roger makes me glad you got out. I've dreamt of seeing you and Olivia happy with someone, the way you are with Roger. I'm sorry Roger's positive and if you need anything, I hope you'll come to me. But I am relieved that you, my daughter is negative." she said looking down at her daughter.

"Yeah well mom, it doesn't make it any easier. I'm gonna lose Roger and there's nothing I can do." she said looking over at her.

"Sweetie, there's plenty we can do. We'll get him on the best medication money can buy and get him the best health care money can buy. I'm sure there's something we can do for him to give him more time with you. With us." she smiled bringing her hand up to play with her daughters wet hair.

"Really?" she asked looking into her mother's blue eyes.

"Of course Adrianna. I love you and to see you so in love with someone who is so in love with you, that's what I've always dreamed for you sweetie." she smiled hugging her daughter again.

"Thanks mom. I better get back upstairs. Roger's waiting for me." she smiled looking over at her.

"OK. And we have a very busy day tomorrow. You, Olivia and I are going out shopping for a dress for you and Ned is gonna take Roger out for a tuxedo for the weekend and some other things. I have a feeling your rock star doesn't have anything appropriate for a tennis match." she smiled looking down at her.

"You'd be right." she laughed looking up at her.

"OK sweetie. I love you, you know?" she said smiling at her.

"I love you too mom. I'm sorry I underestimated you." she said looking up at her.

"That's OK. I probably was a little out of touch until now. But I'm working on getting better." she smiled looking down at her.

"I appreciate that mom." she smiled before turning around to go upstairs to Roger.


	8. Chapter 8

"Are you actually gonna make me go shopping with Ned?" Roger asked sitting on the bed watching Adrianna put her hair up.

"Baby, it's not gonna be that bad. I'd rather go with you and Ned than my mom and Olivia. You got off lucky." she laughed looking over at him.

"Oh yeah, real lucky. I'm going out to some fancy store for a tuxedo and God knows what other faggy clothes that aren't me with your soon to be stepfather." she said sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Roger, you don't have to do this if you don't want to. I'm not gonna make you wear clothes that aren't you." she said sitting next to him.

"No, I'll go. But if I look ridiculous, it's on your head." he grumbled looking over at her.

"You're not gonna look ridiculous. If anything, with those legs, you're gonna be the sexiest guy at the tennis match." she laughed wrapping her arms around his neck.

"You think you're so funny, don't you?" he smirked as she leaned in to kiss him.

"I know I'm funny. You say so yourself." she laughed as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him.

"I love you Aid." he smiled looking into her eyes.

"I love you too Roger." she smiled before they got up and left the room. Adrianna went with her mother and sister and Roger went with Ned. Adrianna picked up a few dresses and some little outfits for weekend and Roger and Ned shopped for a tuxedo and some appropriate outfits for the weekend. As bad as Roger thought it would be, it wasn't. Ned was actually pretty cool. Roger told him all about everyone in New York and how much he loved Adrianna. He even felt comfortable enough to tell him that he wanted to marry her. When they got back to the house, Roger went up to his and Adrianna's room and laid down. He wasn't used to shopping, so he was pretty worn out. He went right to sleep.

"Hi Ned. Where's Roger?" Adrianna asked looking over at Ned who was sitting on the couch in the living room.

"He went upstairs. I think I wore him out shopping." he laughed looking up at her.

"Is he OK?" she asked concerned as she put her bags on the floor in the foyer.

"Yeah, he's just not used to power shopping like I am. He's a good man Adrianna. And he's crazy about you." he smiled looking up at her.

"I know. I'm gonna go check on Roger." she said rushing up the stairs to her room. "Roger, are you OK Baby?" she asked opening her bedroom door.

"Yeah, I'm fine Aid. I'm just beat. Boy, could that guy shop." he laughed looking over at her.

"I was scared. I thought there was something wrong." she said sitting on the bed next to him.

"No, I'm fine Aid. See. I'm OK. I'm just really tired. That guy can shop like a chick." he said looking over at Adrianna who had tears filling her eyes. "Aid, I'm fine." he said taking her into his arms.

"I just got scared. I mean, I don't want anything to happen to you." she cried into his chest as he rocked her back and forth.

"I'm OK Aid. Don't worry. Nothing is gonna happen to me." he whispered kissing her head.

"I'm sorry Roger." she said as he caressed her hair.

"What are you sorry for Baby? Loving me so much that you worry about me. Don't be sorry Aid. I like it when you worry about me." he smiled looking down at her.

"You like making me worry?" she said looking up at him.

"Sometimes. It makes me feel loved." he laughed as she hit him.

"Are you crazy?" she yelled smacking his arms and chest as she cried.

"Aid, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you worry, but I'm not afraid to admit that I kind of like it when you worry about me." he said catching her hands to stop her from hitting him.

"Roger, you have no idea how scary it is for me when you take a nap in the middle of the day. I think all these things that scare the hell out of me." she yelled as he brought her to his chest.

"I'm sorry Aid. I didn't realize. I'm sorry." he said kissing her head comforting her.

"Roger, Adrianna is everything OK?" Olivia asked knocking on the door.

"Yeah Liv, everything's fine." Roger called out as Olivia opened the door.

"What happened?" she asked looking up at Roger seeing Adrianna crying.

"I fucked up." he said as Adrianna looked up at her.

"It's nothing. I just over reacted to something. I'm fine." she said looking up at Roger.

"I'm sorry Aid. I never should have said that. I was insensitive." he said looking down at her.

"Would someone mind filling me in please?" Olivia asked looking over at them.

"Roger was laying down and I was scared that he was getting sick or something and he said that he was just tired from shopping with Ned and then he said that he liked when I worried about him and I just started yelling at him and hitting him. I told you, I over reacted." she said looking up at Roger.

"You guys are weird." Olivia laughed before leaving the room.

"We are not weird." Adrianna yelled as Roger laughed.

"Yeah we are Aid. Just a little." he laughed looking down at her.

"OK maybe a little. But we're a good weird." she laughed looking up at him.

"Yeah we are." he smiled leaning down to kiss her.

"Are you two OK?" Grace asked peaking in the bedroom door.

"Yeah mom, we're fine. What's up?" Adrianna asked looking up at her as she held Roger around his waist.

"We have to be getting ready for the wedding now, OK?" she smiled looking at them.

"OK mom." she smiled looking over at her.

"OK. I'll see you in a little while." she smiled before leaving the room closing the door behind her.

"I love you Aid." Roger smiled looking down at Adrianna.

"I love you too Roger." she smiled leaning up to kiss him. "I should go in the shower. I'm all sticky from shopping with my mom and my sister. Why don't you lay down and you can go in when I get out." she smiled looking up at him.

"Good idea. I'm not used to this heat and Ned shops like Maureen does. I swear he's the male version of her." he laughed kissing her forehead.

"I would love to see all the pretty outfits you guys got, but I need to start getting ready." she laughed looking up at him.

"You're gonna love them Aid. They're not as bad as I thought they'd be." he said as she smiled up at him.

"You liked hanging out with Ned, didn't you?" she asked smiling at him.

"Yeah I did. He's not a bad guy Aid. You'll like him." he said leaning down to kiss her she went towards the bathroom to take a shower.

"I'm sure I will." she smiled looking back at him before she went into the shower.

* * *

"Aid, come on. You've been in there forever." Roger said knocking on the door of the bathroom.

"One more minute Roger. I have to fix my hair." she yelled looking in the mirror.

"Is she ready yet?" Olivia asked entering Adrianna's bedroom.

"No. She just keeps telling me one more minute. We're gonna be late." he said looking at the clock on the nightstand.

"I'll get her. She was always obsessed with her hair. Ever since we were teenagers." Olivia laughed looking at the bathroom door.

"I'm gonna go downstairs so Ned doesn't have a melt down." he smiled before leaving the room.

"Aid, come on. We gotta go. Mom and Ned are waiting for us." Olivia called out knocking on the bathroom door.

"How do I look?" she asked opening the door.

"You look gorgeous Aid. Wow. Roger's gonna be speechless. You'd be lucky if anyone noticed mom." she smiled looking at her little sister.

"Oh yeah, mom would love that." she smiled. Her eyes were lined in black and her lip gloss was clear, but it was perfect. Her hair was swept up in a french twist and it looked perfect. She had bought a light pink strapless dress earlier in the day and it went down to her mid calf and flared out a little on the bottom.

"Roger's gonna go nuts Aid." she smiled looking down at her.

"You think so?" she asked looking up at her.

"I know so sweetie. The way he looks at you in your pajamas is gonna be nothing compared to the way he's gonna look at you in that dress. Wow." she smiled hugging her.

"Thanks Liv." she smiled leaving the room with her sister. As they started down the stairs Roger looked up. When he caught a glimpse of Adrianna his jaw dropped.

"She looks beautiful Roger. You are one lucky man to have her on your arm." Ned smiled seeing Roger looking up at Adrianna.

"You have no idea Ned." he smiled fixing the cuffs on his tuxedo as Adrianna reached the bottom of the stairs. He went to her and held his arm out. "May I have the honor of escorting you to your seat?" he smiled looking down at her.

"I would love to be escorted to my seat by the most handsome man in the room." she smiled looking up at him taking his arm.

"Yeah well, I gotta look good if I'm with you." he smiled leaning down to kiss her before bringing her to her seat. "I love you Aid." he smiled looking down at her.

"I love you too Roger." she smiled as Ned and Olivia smiled at them.

"Why does she get the perfect man?" Olivia laughed looking up at Ned.

"You'll meet your Roger, don't worry Liv. Just give it time." he smiled looking down at her.

"I hope so." she smiled as the music began and Grace began down the stairs. The ceremony was simple and beautiful.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride." the minister smiled looking at Ned and Grace as Ned began kissing her.

"She looks so beautiful." Adrianna smiled looking up at Roger who was staring at her. "What?" she asked laughed as she clapped with the other guests.

"You look so beautiful Aid." he smiled leaning down to kiss her head.

"Thank you Roger. You look incredible too." she smiled reaching up to caress his face.

"Now we party." Ned called out as everyone laughed.

"Come here." Roger said taking Adrianna's hand and leading her into the kitchen pantry.

"Roger, what are you doing? We can't have sex in the pantry." she laughed looking up at him.

"I don't want to have sex in the pantry Aid. I just want to have you to myself for a few minutes." he smiled leaning down to kiss her perfect lips.

"Well I'm all yours Baby." she smiled wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him again.

"Ned and I have a surprise for you." he smiled looking into her bright blue eyes.

"Oh yeah? What did you and my step father do?" she smiled looking up at him.

"You'll see. Come on." he smiled kissing her one more time before taking her hand and leading her into the ball room. "Wait here." he smiled before going over to Ned.

"Where did you two disappear to?" Olivia asked approaching Adrianna.

"None of your business." Adrianna laughed looking up at her.

"You were making out in the pantry, weren't you?" she asked smiling down at her.

"If you must know, yes. We were." she laughed as rushed over to Adrianna.

"I love you Aid." he whispered before leaning down to kiss her and taking her hand leading her towards the band.

"What did you do Roger?" she asked as he and Ned climbed up on the stage. "What is he doing?" she asked looking up at Olivia as Grace joined them.

"Hi everyone. I'm Roger Davis and I want to do a song for my beautiful girlfriend Adrianna. The daughter of the bride. Ned's gonna give me a hand, so Aid, I love you Baby." he smiled standing in front of the microphone holding a guitar as Ned sat behind the piano smiling at him.

"Is he gonna sing for you? That is the most romantic thing I've ever seen." Olivia smiled putting her arm around Adrianna who was smiling up at Roger.

"That's my Roger." she smiled as the music started and the music started.

"_Blue jean baby, L.A. lady, seamstress for the band. Pretty eyed, pirate smile, you'll marry a music man. Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand. And now she's in mine, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand. Jesus freaks out in the street. Handing tickets out for God. Turning back she just laughs. The boulevard is not that bad. Piano man he makes his stand. In the auditorium, Looking on she sings the songs. The words she knows the tune she hums. But oh how it feels so real. Lying here with no one near. Only you and you can hear me. When I say softly slowly. Hold me closer tiny dancer. Count the headlights on the highway. Lay me down in sheets of linen, you had a busy day today. Blue jean baby, L.A. lady, seamstress for the band. Pretty eyed, pirate smile, you'll marry a music man. Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand. And now she's in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand" _he sung as tears filled Adrianna's eyes. "I love you Aid." he smiled taking his guitar off as the room erupted in applause.

"I love you too Roger." she cried jumping into his arms holding him tight.

"Tell me we got that on tape." Ned said looking down at Grace who had tears in her eyes too.

"I hope so." she smiled as Ned took her in his arms.

"I do love you Aid." Roger whispered kissing her head.

"Roger, I know. I've always known." she smiled kissing him.


	9. Chapter 9

"I am so glad to be home." Adrianna smiled looking up at Roger as she unlocked their apartment door.

"I don't know. I had fun in Florida." he smiled carrying the bags into the apartment.

"Of course you had fun in Florida. You and my step dad were attatched at the hip all weekend. What was that all about?" she asked wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Nothing. He's just really cool. I like him." he smiled leaning down to kiss her before looking over at the answering machine. "We have messages." he smiled going over to the phone.

"You have been acting weird since the tennis match on Saturday. What gives?" she asked looking over at him as he pressed the button.

"Can't talk now Baby. We have messages." he smiled as the machine beeped.

"Hey Rog, Aid I know you guys aren't home yet, but tonight we're all meeting up at the Life if you wanna come and tell us all about your weekend. Hopefully we'll see you guys later. It's Mark by the way. Bye." the voice on the machine said as Roger laughed.

"We know it's you Mark. You damn bonehead." he laughed looking over at Adrianna.

"Give him a break Baby. I'm sure he figured we forgot what his voice sounded like since we were away all weekend." she laughed as the next message started.

"Hi Roger, hi Adrianna, it's um Maureen. I don't know if Marky called you but we're hanging out at the Life Cafe tonight and we would love to see you guys there. We wanna hear all about Florida. OK Byes." she said cheerfully as Adrianna smiled up at Roger.

"So where do you wanna go tonight?" Adrianna laughed looking up at him as he put his arms around her.

"I was thinking maybe the Life Cafe." he joked holding her close to him.

"That sounds like a great idea. I wonder if anyone's gonna be there." she laughed as he kissed her head.

"Yeah, I think that's a safe bet Baby." he laughed holding her closer to him.

"I'm gonna start unpacking, OK? Maybe you should wear one of the outfits you and Ned bought the other day." she suggested looking upat him.

"Yeah, see I don't think so. If anyone knows I wore clothes like that, I'd never hear the end of it." he laughed looking down at her.

"What? No way. I think you looked very sexy. Especially in those short white shorts." she laughed as he picked her up.

"Oh yeah? You tell anyone I wore tennis shorts, I'll deny it and have to kill you." he laughed throwing her on the bed.

"Maybe I could be bribed." she laughed leaning up to kiss him.

"With sex maybe?" he asked smiling down at her.

"For starters, yeah." she laughed as he leaned down to kiss her again as they began to make love.

"Come on Baby, we gotta start getting ready to go." he smiled kissing her head.

"Do we have to? I missed sleeping in our bed." she asked looking up at him.

"Yeah come on. We gotta go." he smiled before getting up.

"What's with you? Normally you wouldn't think twice about blowing off our friends to lay in bed with me." she asked looking up at him.

"Nothing's up with me. I just wanna hang out with our friends. We haven't seen them all weekend." he smiled leaning down to kiss her.

"OK. But don't think I'm not gonna find out what you're up to Mr. Davis. You know how transparent you are." she smiled getting out of bed.

"I have no idea what you're talking about Baby." he smiled beginning to get dressed.

"Yeah, OK Roger." she laughed getting out of bed getting dressed.

* * *

"There they are. We were afraid you guys didn't get our message." Mark said looking up at them as they entered the cafe.

"Oh, you mean the one you left or the one Maureen left?" Adrianna laughed looking down at them.

"Yeah, we kind of missed you two." Maureen smiled getting up to hug them. "So how was Florida? You have to tell us everything." she smiled as they sat down.

"Well, Roger sung Tiny Dancer at the wedding while my step father played piano with him." Adrianna smiled looking upat them.

"That is so romantic." Joanne smiled looking over at them.

"That's my Roger." she smiled looking up at him as he kissed her head.

"So how's your step father? Do you like him?" Collins asked looking over at her.

"He's OK. I mean, him and Roger got along great." she smiled looking over at them.

"That's cool. How was your mom?" Collins asked leaning back in his chair.

"She was OK. I mean, she's not as out of touch as she used to be." she smiled yawning.

"Are you tired Baby?" Roger asked looking down at her.

"Yeah a bit. It's been a long weekend." she smiled looking up at him.

"We're gonna get going guys. It's been a really long weekend. We'll see you guys tomorrow." Roger said as he and Adrianna got up.

"OK guys. We'll see you tomorrow. We're so glad you guys are home." Mark smiled as everyone hugged Roger and Adrianna goodbye.

"Are you OK Aid?" he asked as they began to walk home.

"Yeah, I'm just tired. We've had a really draining weekend. Between all the events and stuff. I just need to get a good nights sleep and not wake up until really late tomorrow." she smiled looking up at him.

"OK Baby. We'll lay in bed all day tomorrow, OK?" he smiled holding her in his arms.

"That sounds perfect." she smiled as they entered the building and walked up the stairs to their apartment. They were so tired, they went right to sleep. The next morning, Roger woke up first. He leaned over and watched Adrianna sleep. She looked so beautiful. He lifted his arm up and swept the hair out of her face. She began to stir but fell back to sleep. He got out of bed and began making breakfast and coffee. He looked around the apartment and saw the pictures of him and Adrianna that Mark had taken of them. He smiled at them and continued to make breakfast. He couldn't believe how deeply he had fallen for Adrianna. 3 and a half months ago, he was still mourning Mimi's death and now he had new hope. He had Adrianna. As he cooked the eggs he couldn't help but smile. He caught himself doing that a lot when he thought about Adrianna. "Roger, are you cooking breakfast?" Adrianna asked coming out of the bedroom wearing a pair of his boxers and one of his rock t-shirts.

"Yeah, I'm making eggs. The coffee should be ready in a minute." he smiled looking back at her.

"You are so wonderful." she smiled coming up behind him wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Who me?" he asked laughing as he turned to wrap his arms around her shoulders.

"Yes you." she laughed leaning up to kiss him.

"Why don't you pour the coffee and breakfast will be ready in a minute?" he smiled looking down at her.

"OK Baby." she smiled letting go of him to make the coffee.

"You know what I was thinking Baby?" Roger asked as he finished the eggs.

"What's that?" she asked pouting the coffee into the mugs.

"Why don't we go to Florida this summer?" he asked looking down at her.

"You really like Florida, don't you?" she smiled looking over at him.

"Yeah, I do." he smiled looking down at her as he put the eggs on the plates.

"And you like Ned, huh?" she asked looking up at him as he put the plate in front of her at the counter.

"He's really cool. You should spend more time with him." he said looking over at her.

"Maybe I will. Since my boyfriend talks so highly of him, he must be a great guy." she smiled looking over at him.

"He's not what I expected, you know? I expected a snooty guy, but he was far from it. Do you know me singing to you at the wedding was his idea? He thought it would be cool for you." he smiled putting the fork in his mouth.

"You're kidding?" she asked drinking her coffee.

"No, I'm not. When I told him that was our song, he got all excited because he knew how to play it on the piano and volunteered to accompany me." he smiled looking up at her.

"I take it my step father is a romantic?" she smiled looking over at him.

"Seems like." he laughed as he continued eating.

"No wonder why you two get along so well. My mom married the older, richer version of you." she laughed reaching over to caress his face.

"Maybe." he laughed smiling at her.

"I'm gonna go back to bed. I'm still a little tired." she smiled putting her plate in the sink.

"OK Baby. I'll be in in a minute." he smiled as she leaned over to kiss him.

"I'll be waiting." she smiled before going back into the bedroom. He wolfed down his breakfast and rushed into the bedroom to be with her. "I knew I'd be seeing you." she laughed as he jumped on the bed next to her.

"You know I can't turn down an offer like that." he smiled leaning down to kiss her.

"Yeah, I know." she smiled pulling him into a more passionate kiss. As they began to take their clothes off, the phone rang. "Of course." she smiled looking over at the phone.

"Leave it." he smiled kissing her again.

"OK." she smiled looking up at him. As the machine started they continued kissing. "Hi, you have reached Roger and Aid. We can't answer your call right now. Please leave your name and number and we'll get back to you. Thanks." Adrianna's voice echoed across the apartment before the beep.

"Adrianna, it's mom. Are you two there? Hello, Adrianna, Roger if you're there pick up the phone." Grace called out as Roger and Adrianna looked up at one another.

"We should get that. She's not gonna stop." Adrianna said as Roger laid back on the bed as he reached over for the phone.

"Hi Grace." he smiled talking into the phone. "Um, yeah she's right here... OK hang on. She wants you." he said handing her the phone.

"Of course she does." she laughed reaching for the phone. "Hi mom... yes we're fine... we hung out for a little while, but we were tired. It was a busy weekend... I don't know, Roger was talking about this summer... Yeah, I'd like that too... OK mom, I'll talk to you later... I love you too mom." she smiled before handing Roger the phone. "She wanted to see when we're gonna come visit next. We just left yesterday and she can't wait for us to come back." she laughed looking up at him.

"Well I can't wait to go back either." he smiled looking down at her.

"I can't believe you actually liked it down there." she smiled leaning up onto her elbow.

"Yeah, I mean, your mom is pretty cool, Ned's awesome and I like Liv." he smiled caressing her naked waist.

"And you liked playing dress up." she laughed looking up at him.

"Yeah, I did. It was fun. I've only worn a tux once and that was for my high school prom." he smiled looking over at her.

"I can't believe my leather jacket wearing, heavy metal t-shirt guy actually likes to wear tuxes." she laughed as he leaned down to kiss her.

"Well that's only because you dress up too and you take my breath away." he whispered as he pulled her closer to him.

"Oh yeah?" she laughed looking over at him.

"Yeah." he smiled as they began kissing again and began to make love.


	10. Chapter 10

"OK, I'm not messing around now. I'm gonna do it." Roger rambled pacing around in front of the Life Cafe.

"Roger, what's wrong with you? What are you doing out here?" Mark asked as he rounded the corner to the Life Cafe nearly bumping into Roger.

"I'm waiting for Aid. She had to work late, so I told her we'd meet her here." he said bringing the cigarette to his lips taking a drag. "Mark, let me ask you something. You like Adrianna, right?" he asked looking down at him.

"Of course I like Adrianna, Roger. What's wrong with you?" he asked looking up at him propping his bag up onto his shoulder.

"I don't know. I... um. I wanna give her this, but I don't know if it's the right time." he said taking a small ring box out of his jacket pocket and handing it to Mark.

"Roger, this is amazing. Where did you get this?" he asked looking up at him.

"Ned loaned me some money when we were in Florida and I've been paying him off. I almost have him paid off, and I wanted to wait until it was all paid for, but I can't wait. I'm freaking out here." he said running his fingers through his hair.

"Roger, you got back from Florida 2 months ago. Why haven't you asked her yet?" he asked handing the ring box back to him.

"I told you, I wanted to wait until it was all paid for. But I can't wait Mark. If I don't ask her now, I'm gonna go crazy." he said throwing his cigarette into the street.

"So what's stopping you?" he asked looking up at him.

"I don't want to ask her like it's no big deal. It is a big deal and I want it to be special. I want to make it a night she's gonna remember the rest of her life." he said rubbing the back of his neck.

"Roger, Aid loves you. She's not gonna care how you ask her to marry you. All she's gonna care about is that she loves you. She's gonna say yes whether you go all out or ask her after work." Mark said looking up at him.

"I know, it's just I love her Mark and I don't want me asking her to marry me to be just a normal thing. I wanna do something big. I mean, really big. But I'm freaking out." he said walking over to the wall and leaning against it.

"OK Roger. Why don't you let us help you do something really big for her?" he suggested looking up at him.

"Really? You'll help me? I mean, you know I'm not good at this stuff. I've never done this before. But then again, I've felt this way about anyone before." he said looking down at him.

"Yeah Rog. I know." he smiled as Adrianna came down the block.

"Hey Baby. What are you guys doing out here?" she smiled leaning up to kiss Roger.

"We were just waiting for you." he smiled wrapping his arms around her and holding her close to him.

"You didn't have to do that. But I'm glad you did." she smiled looking up at him.

"I'm gonna go inside. I'll see you guys in there." Mark smiled before going into the cafe.

"Have you been smoking?" she asked looking up at him.

"Yeah, I have a lot on my mind. You know, with the new band and everything. I'm sorry. I know I promised you I'd quit." he said looking down at her.

"Good, because I mean Roger, those things'll kill you." she said looking up at him.

"I know Baby. I'm sorry. I'm just a little stressed out right now." he said kissing her head.

"Baby, a band is supposed to be fun. If it's stressing you out, maybe you should pull back a little bit." she said looking up at him.

"No, I'm OK. Come on, let's go inside. Everyone's waiting for us." he smiled leaning down to kiss her.

"OK Baby. But promise me that if the band becomes too much, you'll slow down, OK? I love you. I don't want anything happening to you." she said looking up at him.

"I love you too Aid and I promise. I'll slow down if it becomes too much." he smiled kissing her head before going inside.

* * *

"How about we put a table on the roof and surround it with candles and lights and champagne?" Maureen suggested as they sat around the loft thinking of ways for Roger to propose to Adrianna.

"Nah, too hokey." Collins said looking up at her.

"What do you mean too hokey? I think that's very romantic." Maureen pouted sitting next to Joanne with her hands folded across her chest.

"It is romantic, but it's not Roger's style. Roger's more the musical type. You know, him proposing to her in a song or something." Collins said looking over at her.

"Yeah well, he's the songwriter. I highly doubt we can sit and write a song asking Adrianna to marry Roger." Mark said pacing the loft.

"OK, how about we decorate the performance space. We can put a little round table and some candles in there and Roger can sing her a song and then ask her to marry him." Maureen suggested looking up at them.

"What is it with you and candles? I never realized you were such a pyro." Joanne laughed looking over at her.

"Candles happen to be really romantic." she said looking over at her.

"Well I don't see Roger using candles for romance. He's more a candles for necessity kind of guy." Joanne said looking over at her.

"I think you underestimate Roger's sense of romance. He wants to make the night he proposes to Aid to be the most romantic night of her life. So instead of blowing off my ideas, why don't you three be constructive and come up with ideas of your own?" Maureen said looking up at them.

"Fair enough." Collins said looking over at her.

"OK, my performance space idea. Yay or nay?" she asked looking over at them.

"I like it, but how is Roger gonna feel about it?" Mark asked looking over at her.

"I'm gonna call him." Maureen said getting up.

"Maureen, what if Adrianna answers the phone?" Joanne asked looking over at her.

"I'll just tell her I need to talk to Roger. Duh." she said dialing Adrianna's phone number.

"Yeah Jo. What's wrong with you?" Collins laughed drinking his stoli.

"Hi Aid, is Roger there? I need to ask him something." Maureen smiled talking into the phone.

"Sure Maureen, one second. Baby, it's Maureen, she said she needs to ask you something." Adrianna smiled looking over at Roger.

"Thanks Baby." he smiled taking the phone from her. "Hey Mo, what's up?" he said looking over at Adiranna who was straightening up the kitchen.

"OK, I know Aid is there, so just tell me yes or no, OK?" Maureen said looking up.

"OK." he smiled watching Adrianna.

"I have an awesome idea." she smiled as she began telling him the plan.

"I think I can do that. Thanks Maureen." he smiled trying to hold back his excitement over the idea.

"OK. I'll come to the bar later and we can get started on the planning." she smiled looking over at them.

"OK. I'll talk to you later. Bye Maureen." he said hanging up the phone.

"What was that all about?" Adrianna asked drying her hands on a dish towel.

"Nothing. Maureen just wants me to help her with something. It's no big deal." he smiled looking over at her.

"I'm gonna leave for work now. I'll see you later, OK Baby?" he smiled going over to kiss her goodbye.

"OK Baby. I'll be there later, OK?" she smiled kissing him back.

"I can't wait. Bye Baby." he smiled before leaving the apartment. Adrianna smiled as the door closed.

"OK Maureen, what's your plan?" he asked looking over at her as he entered the bar.

"OK, we're gonna set up a little table in the performance space with candles all over the room. Um, how fast can you write a song for Aid?" she asked looking up at him.

"Is this fast enough?" he said handing her a piece of paper from his back pocket.

"You wrote one already?" she asked looking down at the lyrics.

"I wrote it a couple of months ago. I couldn't get it out of my head." he said looking down at her. "What do you think?" he asked nervously.

"It's good. Roger this is really good. She is so gonna cry. It's perfect." she smiled looking up at him.

"You think so?" he asked rubbing the back of his neck.

"I know so Roger. She's gonna love it. You're gonna make her cry." she smiled folding the paper again handing it back to him.

"I don't want to make her cry Maureen. I wanna ask her to marry me." he said looking down at her as he put the song sheet back in his pocket.

"Don't worry Roger. Her crying at a song is a good thing. It means she's touched by it. That's a good thing." she smiled looking up at him.

"Yeah well, I hate to see her cry." he said looking down at her.

"Don't worry Roger. It'll only last for a second and then she's gonna be melting in your arms." she smiled looking over at him.

"I don't want to get her into bed Maureen. I want to ask her to marry me." he said walking away from her.

"Roger, that's not what I meant." she said watching him as he went around to the other side of the bar.

"I know. I'm sorry Maureen. I'm just really nervous and I want this to be the most amazing night of her life." he said looking over at her.

"I know Roger. I'm sorry. But I really think this is gonna be perfect." she smiled looking up at him.

"Thanks Maureen. I really appreciate you guys helping me with this." he smiled looking over at her.

"So when do you wanna do this?" Maureen smiled looking up at him.

"As soon as possible. I don't think I can take it anymore. I've been carring this damn ring around for months." he said looking over at her.

"I know Roger. OK, how about tomorrow night?" Maureen asked looking up at him.

"OK. Thanks Maureen. I really appreciate you doing this for me." he smiled looking over at her.

"You're getting married Roger." she smiled excitedly looking up at him.

"Yeah I am." he smiled leaning over the bar to hug her.


	11. Chapter 11

"Roger, I thought we were going to dinner. Why are we at the performance space?" Adrianna asked looking up at him.

"Maureen needs me to fix something on the sound board." he said holding her hand. He was wearing his suit and she was wearing her marroon dress.

"Roger, you don't know anything about the sound board. Mark usually handles that." Adrianna said looking up at him.

"Yeah well, Mark's busy and she said it was easy. It should only take me a couple of minutes." he smiled looking back at her.

"OK Baby." she smiled as she followed him.

"Aid, wait a minute." he said stopping her outside the doors of the performance space.

"What's the matter Roger?" she asked looking up at him. Her blue eyes pierced right through him.

"I love you Aid." he whispered taking her face in his hands and kissing her.

"I love you too Roger." she smiled looking up at him. He stood straight up and opened the doors. There were candles everywhere and a small round table was set up in front of the stage. "Roger, what is this?" she asked looking around.

"Sit down Baby. I have something I want to show you." he smiled looking down at her as he led her to the table.

"What is all this? I thought we were going to dinner?" she asked looking up at him.

"That's OK. This'll only take a minute." he smiled as she sat at the table. "I love you Aid." he smiled kissing her again before going up on stage. He picked up his guitar and began singing the song he wrote for her. Tears sprung to her eyes as she listened. She couldn't take her eyes off of him. "Aid, I love you." he smiled looking down at her.

"Roger, that was beautiful." she smiled wiping her eyes as she clapped for him.

"Aid, I want to ask you something." he said stepping off of the stage.

"What's the matter Baby?" she asked smiling up at him.

"Will you marry me Adrianna?" he asked taking the ring box out of his pocket and holding it out to her.

"Roger, where did you get this? It's beautiful." she asked looking up at him.

"I bought it in Florida. I've been waiting for the right time to ask you. So will you?" he asked looking down at her.

"Of course I'll marry you." she smiled wrapping her arms around his neck. He put his arms around her waist and held her close to him.

"I love you Aid." he whispered kissing her head.

"I love you too Roger." she smiled looking over at him. "So this was all for me?" she asked smiling at him.

"Yep, all for you. Nothing is too good for my Tiny Dancer." he smiled looking at her.

"This is the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me." she smiled looking at him.

"You deserve the best Baby." he smiled kissing her.

"You planned this all on your own?" she asked smiling at him.

"No, actually Maureen and them helped me. She came up with the idea actually." he said looking down at her.

"Remind me to do something special for her." she smiled kissing him hard.

"I wouldn't be surprised if she starts campaigning for Maid of Honor." he laughed looking over at her.

"I think that can be arranged." she laughed holding him tight.

"We have to tell your mom, Liv and Ned." he smiled looking down at her.

"How about we go for the weekend? We can leave in the morning and tell them inperson." she suggested smiling at him.

"Are you serious? How are we gonna be able to afford it?" he asked looking down at her.

"Um, I can dip into my trust fund." she said cautiously as he looked down at her.

"I thought you gave that to your mom and Liv?" he asked looking into her eyes.

"They gave it to me when we were there for my moms wedding. I wanted it to help you." she said looking down.

"But why Aid? I thought you didn't want any part of that world?" he asked looking down at her.

"Because I don't want to lose you Roger. I'm willing to do whatever I have to do to get you the best health care money can buy." she said looking up at him with tears in her eyes.

"Baby, I don't want to leave you either." he whispered leaning down to hold her in his arms.

"I love you Roger." she smiled looking up at him.

"I love you too Aid." he smiled kissing her head.

* * *

"Are you ready Baby?" Adrianna asked looking up at Roger as they stood outside Grace's house.

"Yeah, I'm ready Aid." he smiled holding her hand as they opened the door to the mansion.

"Mom, Ned, Liv. Is anyone here?" she called out looking around as Roger put the bags inside the foyer.

"Adrianna, what are you doing here? We didn't know you were coming." Ned said rushing down the stairs.

"We thought we'd surprise everyone." she smiled reaching up to hug him.

"It is so nice to see you. Your mother and Liv had to go out this morning. Nail appointment or hair appointment. Something like that. They'll be back soon." he said smiling at Roger.

"Hi Ned. It's great to see you again." Roger smiled looking down at Adrianna's left hand.

"It's nice to see you too. Why are you looking down?" he asked smiling as he began looking down as well.

"I think he wants to show you this." she laughed lifting her hand to show him her engagement ring.

"Oh my God, that's great. Congratulations sweetie." he smiled hugging her again before hugging Roger.

"Thanks Ned." he smiled patting him on the back.

"Grace and Liv are gonna freak out. Wow. They have been taking bets on when you were gonna pop the question." he laughed looking up at him.

"Oh yeah? Who won?" Adrianna asked looking up at him.

"Liv, I think. She said he would do it before you guys came this summer. Grace was convinced it would be when you were here." he laughed as Grace and Olivia entered the house laughing.

"Ned, whose car... Adrianna. Roger." Grace called out rushing over to them. "What are you two doing here? Were you supposed to come this weekend and I forgot? I swear, I'm forgetting more and more every day." Grace said hugging Adrianna and smiling up at Roger.

"No mom, we decided to come and surprise you." Adrianna smiled looking over at her.

"Hi Roger. You look really good." Olivia smiled as she hugged him.

"Is everything OK?" Grace asked looking over at them.

"Yeah mom, everything is fine. Actually, everything is great." she smiled holding up her left hand showing her mother the engagement ring.

"You didn't. Damn Liv, how did you know?" Grace smiled looking over at Olivia.

"I guessed. I figured Roger couldn't wait much longer." Olivia smiled looking over at her.

"I like how you two bet on my life." Adrianna laughed looking up at them.

"Well we knew you two were gonna get engaged sooner or later. By the way Roger fawns over you, there's no way he would let you out of his life." Grace smiled looking over at her.

"OK, now we have a wedding to plan." Olivia smiled looking over at them.

"You can call my wedding planner." Adrianna smiled looking over at her.

"Maureen?" Olivia laughed looking over at her.

"Yeah." she laughed looking up at Roger.

"Yeah, she's annoying but she'll make sure everything is perfect for Aid." he smiled looking down at them.

"Well we need to celebrate." Grace said looking over at Adrianna.

"Mom, you're not gonna throw an insane engagement party, are you?" she asked looking over at her.

"Of course not. I know that's not your style. I think we should just go out to dinner. Just the 5 of us. You know, a family celebration." Grace smiled looking over at her.

"Thanks mom. I appreciate that." she smiled looking over at her.

"I love you Adrianna. I'm so happy for you and Roger." Grace smiled hugging her again.

"I love you too mom." she smiled looking up at Roger.


	12. Chapter 12

"Maureen, I'm not fighting with you about this right now... because I'm tired and I don't feel well... no I'm fine. It's just that, between you and my mother, this wedding is making me crazy... OK, I'll see you at the cafe tonight... OK bye." Adrianna said hanging up the phone.

"Is everything OK Aid?" Roger asked looking over at her as he entered the bedroom.

"Yeah, it's just Maureen and my mom. I told you we should have changed out phone number until the wedding." she smiled looking up at him.

"Are you OK Aid? You look a little pale." Roger asked feeling her head.

"Yeah, I'm just a little tired and I don't feel well. My stomach is bothering me. I'm fine. I think I just need to get some sleep." she said looking up at him as she laid down in the bed.

"I'm gonna call the doctor. I don't like this Aid." he said reaching out for the phone.

"Roger, I'm fine. I just need to get some rest. I'll be OK." she said stopping him.

"Fine, but if you still don't feel well tomorrow, I'm calling a doctor." he told her sternly.

"Yes Baby. I promise. If I'm not feeling well tomorrow you can call a doctor." she agreed looking up at him.

"I'm serious Aid. I don't like this." he said looking down at her.

"I know Roger. But I'm fine. I just need to get some sleep." she said reaching out for his hand.

"OK. Get some sleep Aid. I'll just be in the next room, OK?" he said leaning down to kiss her head.

"I love you Roger." she smiled looking up at him.

"I love you to Aid." he said before getting up and leaving the room. He was worried about Adrianna. He had never known her to be tired, but she'd been tired a lot lately. As he sat on the couch he heard her wimpering from the bedroom. "Aid, are you OK?" he asked as she clutched her stomach.

"No. I think I need to go to the hospital now." she said looking up at him crying.

"OK Baby." he said leaning down to pick her up and carry her out of the apartment. "It's OK Baby. I got you. Everything's gonna be OK." he said kissing her head as he rushed down the stairs and outside to get a cab to the hospital. When they got there he picked her up and carried her into the emergency room. "Can I get some help over here please?" he called out as doctors and nurses rushed to his aid.

"What's the problem sir?" the doctor asked looking up at him.

"My fiance, she's been tired a lot lately and she's been complaining that she doesn't feel good. And then she started having stomach pains." he told them as he watched them put her on a gurney and wheeled her into the examining room.

"Could you be pregnant Miss...?" the doctor started looking down at Adrianna.

"Constantino. Adrianna Constantino. No, I'm not. I just got my period last week." she said looking up at him as she clutched her stomach.

"Sir, you're gonna have to wait out here. We're gonna do some tests. Then we'll know more." the doctor said looking up at Roger.

"Roger, don't leave please." she said looking up at him. She looked so scared.

"I'm right here Aid. They need to examine you and find out what's wrong with you. It's gonna be OK." he said looking over at her trying to hide his fear as he eases hers.

"I love you Roger." she said as they wheeled her into the examining room.

"I love you too Aid." he said as the doors closed. He paced back and forth in the waiting room, anxious to hear word on Adrianna's condition.

"Mr. Davis. Miss Constantino wants to see you." the nurse said coming out of the examining room. He jumped up and followed her in.

"Baby, are you OK?" he asked as she laid in the bed. He could tell she had been crying.

"They found a tumor on my ovaries. I have cancer Roger. Ovarian cancer." she cried as he sat on the bed next to her and took her into his arms.

"Oh my God Aid." he whispered as she cried onto his chest.

"How did this happen to me Roger? I mean cancer." she cried looking up at him.

"I don't know Baby, but I'm gonna take care of you. I promise. I'm not gonna leave you." he said quietly as he kissed her head. He couldn't believe Adrianna had ovarian cancer. He was HIV positive and she had ovarian cancer. How could this be happening to them.

"Baby, can you call my mom please?" she asked looking up at him.

"OK Aid. I'll be right back, OK?" he said looking down at her. "Are you OK?" he asked lifting her chin up to him.

"Yeah, I'm OK." he said looking up at him wiping her eyes.

"I love you Aid." he said leaning down to kiss her.

"I love you too Roger." she said before he got up and left the room. When the door closed, his first instinct was to yell and throw things. How could Adrianna be sick. He dialed the phone and started calling Grace. He upheld his composure as he spoke to her. When he hung up the phone he called Mark. That is when he lost it.

"Mark, you have to come to the hospital." he said quietly as he began crying.

"What happened Roger? Are you OK?" he asked as he held the phone.

"It's Aid. She's got cancer." he said trying to regain his composure.

"She's got what?" he asked confused.

"She has cancer Mark. Ovarian cancer. They found a tumor on her ovaries." he cried leaning his head against the wall.

"I'll be right there Roger. Do you hear me? Don't do anything. I'll be right there, OK?" he asked looking down at his feet.

"OK. Thanks Mark." he whispered before hanging up the phone. He looked up and wiped his eyes. He had to regain his composure before he went back in to Adrianna. He didn't want her to see him fall apart. He had to be there for her. He walked back to her room where they were wheeling her out. "Where are you taking her?" he asked rushing over to the bed.

"I need to have more tests done Roger. It's OK. Did you call my mother?" she asked looking up at him.

"What kind of tests?" he asked looking up at the doctor.

"She needs a pelvic scan. We need to examine the size of the tumor and see if it's operable." he told him looking over at him.

"What do you mean, see if it's operable? You can't just go in and take it out?" he asked looking at the doctor.

"Well from our initial scan it looks like it's too big to be removed. Removing it would render her unable to have children and at her age, we're not willing to so that yet." he said looking over at Roger.

"So what if we can't have kids. The cancer will be gone if you take this thing out, right?" he asked looking over at Adrianna who had tears streaming down her face.

"It's a little more complicated than that Mr. Davis. Why don't you let us take Miss Constantino for her test and we'll know more." he said looking up at Roger. He looked over at Adrianna and she looked so scared.

"I love you Roger." she said looking over at him.

"I love you too Baby." he said leaning down to kiss her before they wheeled her out. He went back to the waiting area and paved nervously.

"Roger, what happened? Where's Aid?" Mark asked rushing into the emergency room.

"They took her for more tests. They may not be able to take this thing out." he said looking over at him.

"What do you mean they may not be able to take this thing out?" he asked looking up at him.

"The doctor said that from the first scan they did, it looked too big and if they got it out, she may not be able to have kids." he said quietly before sitting down.

"So what. You can adopt, right?" Mark said looking up at him.

"I don't care Mark. I just want this thing out of my girl. I don't want her to die." he told him starting to cry.

"I know Roger." he said sitting next to him putting his hand on his shoulder.

"What am I gonna do? My girl has cancer and there's nothing I can do." he said looking up at him.

"I don't know Roger. But you have to keep it together for Adrianna. She needs you right now Roger." he said looking over at him.

"I know Mark, I just can't stand the thought of my girl going through this." he said wiping his face.

"Roger, she's gonna be OK. We'll take care of her." he said looking over at her.

"Mr. Davis." the doctor called out standing in the hallway.

"Yeah, how is she? Can I go in and see her?" he asked wiping his eyes as he got up to go to him.

"She's OK. The tumor is the size of a golf ball. We can't operate. Taking it out would do irreparable damage to her reproductive organs. She's gonna need to under go intense chemo and radiation therapy to shrink it." he said looking over at Roger who was running his fingers through his hair.

"Is she gonna be OK? I mean, is she gonna die from this?" he asked looking over at the doctor.

"We don't know, but we'll do the best we can." he said looking up at Roger.

"Can I see her? Please." Roger said wiping his face with his hands.

"Sure. I'll take you to her." he said leading him to Adrianna's room.

"Roger." she called out crying when he opened the door.

"I'm right here Baby. It's OK. It's gonna be OK." he said rushing over to her holding her in his arms.

"They can't take it out. I have to have chemo and radiation. I'm gonna lose all my hair." she cried with her face buried in Roger's chest.

"It's OK Aid. We're gonna get through this, I promise." he told her quietly as he comforted her.

* * *

"How could Adrianna have cancer?" Maureen asked looking up at Collins.

"I don't know Maureen." he said looking up at her.

"I mean, Roger's got HIV and now Adrianna has cancer. They can't handle this." she said starting to cry.

"They're so in love, they can handle anything." Joanne said quietly looking up at her.

"But they're gonna have to do chemo and radiation and her recovery." Maureen said looking at her.

"They can handle it Maureen." Joanne yelled getting up from the couch.

"How do you know Pookie?" she asked looking over at her as Mark and Collins sat surprised at Joanne's reaction.

"Because if anyone can handle this Roger and Aid can." she said starting to cry.


	13. Chapter 13

"Are you OK Baby?" Roger asked looking down at Adrianna as she leaned over the toilet.

"Does it look like I'm OK? The chemo and radiation is making it impossible for me to keep anything down." she complained looking up at him.

"I'm sorry Baby." he said sitting next to her on the floor.

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you. I'm just really tired and I feel so nauseous, I can't eat anything out of fear it's gonna make another appearance." she said looking over at him as he put his arm around her to bring her close to him.

"Your first round of treatment is almost done. Then you can relax for a little while. Maybe we can go to Florida in between rounds." he suggested looking over at her.

"Oh yeah, that's all I need to relax. Being around my crazy, over protective mother." she laughed looking up at him.

"She's not crazy and over protective. She cares about you and wants you to get healthy." he said kissing her head.

"Spoken like a fellow crazy, over protective person." she laughed looking up at him.

"I just love my girl and the sooner you get better, the sooner we can get married." he said looking down at her.

"I just don't want to get married while I'm going through the chemo and stuff. I want to be healthy when we get married. And I want some of my hair back." she said looking up at him.

"I like the new do. It's bold and low maintenance." he smiled looking at her short hair.

"Yeah, now you take longer than me fixing your hair." she laughed looking up at him.

"Very funny, but you can't expect me not to look good next to you." he smiled kissing her head.

"But I miss my long beautiful hair." she said looking up at him.

"It'll grow back Baby. And it'll be thicker and more beautiful than ever." he smled looking down at her.

"I hope so." she said looking up at him.

"Are you OK now Baby?" he asked looking down at her.

"Yeah, I think so." she said struggling to get up.

"Let me help you." he said putting his arms around her to help her up.

"Roger, I can get up on my own, you know." she said looking up at him.

"I know. I just like holding you in my arms. Is that OK with you?" he asked kissing her temple.

"Roger, you don't have to keep treating me like I'm gonna break. I'm not." she said looking into his green eyes.

"I know. I just like holding on to you. You make me feel safe." he said looking into her eyes.

"You make me feel safe too." she smiled burying her face in his chest to feel his arms around her.

* * *

"How you doing Babygirl?" Collins asked rushing over to Adrianna as she and Roger entered the Life Cafe.

"I'm fine Collins. I'm done with this round the the chemo and radiation, which is a relief. Maybe I can actually start eating again." she laughed looking up at him.

"When do you two leave for Florida?" Maureen asked looking over at her.

"The day after tomorrow. I can't wait to get out of this damn city." Roger said as they sat down at the table.

"I thought you liked the city?" Mark asked looking over at him.

"Yeah, but in Florida things are different. They're not so complicated. There's no doctors there, no chemo, no stress." he said looking over at him.

"We understand Roger. How long are you two gonna be gone?" Joanna asked looking up at him.

"3 weeks. Aid has her next round of chemo in a month and we want a week to recover from Florida before we go through that again." he said looking over at them.

"What about your job?" Mark asked looking over at him.

"I'm taking a leave of absence. I mean, I'm already working part time so I could take care of Aid and Nick's been really cool about it." he said looking over at Adrianna.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom. I'll be right back." she said looking up at Roger before rushing to the bathroom.

"I'll go check on her." Maureen said looking over at Roger who looked worried.

"Thanks Maureen." Roger said standing up watching the ladies room door.

"Aid, are you OK sweetie?" Maureen asked as she entered.

"Yeah, I'm OK. Just this damn chemo and radiation is killing me. The nausea, fatigue. I hate this." she cried sitting over the toilet wiping her mouth with toilet paper.

"I know sweetie. I'm sorry." she said sympathetically.

"I can't take this anymore Maureen. The tumor's only shrunk a couple of milliters and I feel worse." she said looking up at her.

"Sweetie, it's the only thing you can do." Maureen said squatting down next to her.

"Except die." she said looking up at her.

"Sweetie, you can't give up. You have a few more rounds of chemo to go and then you'll be OK." she said looking down at her.

"What else am I supposed to do Maureen? I'm getting poison injected in me every week, for what? I feel worse with the damn treatment than I do without it." she said looking over at her as she leaned back against the wall.

"Aid, it'll all be worth it. I promise. You must have to hang on, OK? Don't give up." she said looking into her eyes.

"Maureen, before this I was planning my wedding and my life with Roger worrying that he was gonna die on me. I can't let him watch me die like he watched Mimi die. I can't. He can't take it." she cried looking over at her.

"You're not gonna die Adrianna. Don't talk like that." she said looking down at her as she got up to pace around the bathroom.

"How do you know Maureen? The doctors said..." she started before Maureen cut her off.

"Fuck what the doctors said. The doctors said Roger and Collins wouldn't live to see their 30th birthdays and look. Collins is 32 and Roger's gonna be 30 soon. The doctors don't know everything." Maureen said looking down at her with tears in her eyes.

"Maureen, I don't know what to do." she said looking up at her running her fingers through her short golden blond hair.

"You keep going with your treatments and you marry Roger. That's what you do." she said looking down at her.

"Maureen, I'm sick of being sick all the time." she said looking up at her.

"Sweetie, you have to keep fighting. You and Roger deserve to be happy." she said looking down at her.

"Roger does not deserve to watch me die." she told her quietly as she got up to wash her face and mouth.

"You're not gonna die Aid. You have to believe that." she said looking over at her.

"We don't know that Maureen. We can't." she said looking over at her as she leaned on the counter.

"Aid, we're not gonna give up. None of us are. We love you too much to give up." Maureen said standing over her.

"I love you too Maureen. But I don't know if I can do this anymore." she cried as Maureen put her arms around her.

"I know this is hard Aid, but please. Don't give up." Maureen whispered hugging her tight.

"I'll try. I'm sorry Maureen." she said hugging her back.

"No sweetie, I'm sorry. You're my best friend and I'm just not ready to watch another best friend of mine die." she said looking down at her.

"I know Maureen. This has been really hard on everyone." she said looking up at her.

"Yeah it has, but we're here for you Aid. We're not going anywhere." she said looking down at her.

"I know. We should go back outside. Roger's gonna bust in here any minute if we don't." she laughed wiping her eyes.

"Yeah, that fiance of yours is very protective." she smiled looking down at her.

"Well he loves me." she smiled looking up at her.

"Yeah he does." Maureen smiled looking over at her.


	14. Chapter 14

"Adrianna, you look great. I love your hair." Olivia said rushing over to Adrianna as she and Roger entered the house.

"Thanks. I figured I was gonna lose my hair anyway." she smiled looking up at her.

"You look really good Aid." she smiled looking at her.

"Thanks. Where's mom and Ned?" she asked looking up at her.

"They're out. They'll be back in a little while. Mom wanted to do something special for yours and Roger first night here." she smiled as Roger dropped their bags in the foyer.

"I hope she's not planning a ball. I'm not in a mood for a party." she said looking up at her.

"No, she's not. She knows how much you hate them." she laughed as the door opened. It was Grace and Ned.

"Roger, Adrianna you guys are early." Grace said seeing them in the foyer.

"Hi to you too mom. Our plane came in a half hour early." Adrianna smiled looking over at her mother.

"You look beautiful sweetie. Your hair looks great." she smiled playing with her short hair.

"Thanks mom. So what do you and Ned have planned for mine and Roger's first night here?" she asked hugging her mother.

"That can wait. Why don't you and Roger bring your things up to your room and rest for a little while. I'm sure it was a long flight." she smiled as Roger and Ned exchanged smiles.

"OK I guess." she smiled looking up at Roger as he picked up their bags and brought them upstairs. When they entered the bedroom he dropped them next to the door. "What's going on?" she asked looking up at him.

"I just got here, why are you asking me?" he asked looking down at her.

"Because you always seem to know a lot more than you let on." she laughed looking up at him.

"I don't know anything. Now come here. I wanna lay down with you for a little while." he smiled jumping on the bed.

"I'm curious to know what she's planning. Knowing my other, it can't be good." she smiled laying down next to him in the king sized bed.

"Don't underestimate your mother. You know she's trying to behave." he smiled kissing her head as he held her in his arms.

"I know. She is getting better." she smiled looking up at him.

"Now let's take a nap. I'm tired." he smiled looking down at her as he ran his fingers through her short hair.

"You like being here, don't you?" she asked looking up at him.

"Yeah I do. It's relaxing. I feel like the real world can't touch us." he whispered leaning down to kiss her.

"But it can Roger. We can't run from the real world. Your HIV and my cancer is still here." she said looking up at him.

"I know Baby." he said holding her closer before falling asleep. When he woke up Adrianna was curled up in a little ball next to him. The central air conditioning made the room extremely cold. Roger reached over and put a blanket on her before getting up and leaving the room.

"Where's Aid?" Olivia asked seeing him come down the stairs.

"She's still sleeping. She's still really tired from the chemo and radiation." he said running his fingers through his hair.

"How is she doing really?" Ned asked looking over at him.

"Some days are better than others. Today's a good day." he said sitting on the couch.

"What does the doctor say? Is he tumor getting any smaller?" Grace asked looking up at him.

"Not much, but she's still got a few more rounds of the chemo go, so we're hoping it's gonna wear the tumor down." he said looking up at them leaning his elbows on his legs.

"Has she talked any more about the wedding? Maybe doing it between rounds of chemo?" Grace asked looking up at him.

"No. She wants to make sure the cancer is gone before we think about that." he told her quietly as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"How do you feel about that?" Ned asked looking over at him.

"I wanna marry her no matter what she looks like, inside or outside. But she insists that she wants to be healthy before we get married." he said looking over at him.

"Maybe we can do something to make that happen sooner rather then later." Grace suggested looking over at him.

"I don't follow you." he said looking over at her.

"I was thinking of inviting everyone from New York down here for some R & R and while they're here, you two can get married." Grace smiled looking over at him.

"I don't want to blindside her like that. Especially now. She doesn't feel that she looks her best and being the center of attention is gonna make her really uncomfortable." he said getting up to pace the living room.

"Roger, you and Adrianna have been through so much. You should have one thing to celebrate and your love is something to celebrate." Ned said looking over at him.

"I don't know Ned. I love her and I want nothing else than to be her husband, But I mean, I don't know about Aid." he said rubbing the back of his neck.

"Just think about it Roger. I would really love to do this for you two. Especially now." Grace said looking up at him.

"I'll try feeling Aid out to see how she would feel about it." he said looking over at her.

"OK, that's all I ask." Grace smiled looking over at him.

"I'm gonna go check on her. I'll be down in a little while." he said quietly before going up the stairs. He loved the idea of getting married in Florida and couldn't wait to get married to Adrianna. She's the one who wanted to wait until she was healthy. He didn't care if she was healthy or not. He was in love with her and he wanted to be with her in sickness and in health. Whether it was his health or hers. He didn't want to live without her and making her his wife was the most important thing to him. He never wanted to marry anyone as much as he wanted to marry Adrianna. "Aid, are you up?" he asked as he entered the room and didn't see her laying in the bed.

"Yeah, Roger. I'll um... I'll be right out." she replied wiping her eyes. As she got up, she looked in the mirror. Her eyes had dark circles under them and her face was blotchy. The circles appeared shortly after chemo and radiation started. "Hey Baby." she smiled opening the door without looking up at him.

"Aid, look at me." he said looking down at her.

"I'm fine Roger." she said walking past him.

"Adrianna, look at me." he yelled stopping her in her tracks. As she turned around he noticed the blotches on her face. "Aid, have you been crying?" he asked looking down at her.

"Yeah, but I'm fine now." she said looking up at him.

"Why were you crying?" he asked going over to her.

"I heard. You guys downstairs. I heard you." she said as tears sprang to her eyes.

"I meant what I said Aid. I want to marry you more than anything in the world. Whether your healthy or not. I wanna be your husband." he said holding her in his arms.

"I just don't want you to have to watch me die the way you had to watch Mimi and Angel die." she said looking up at him.

"Aid, I don't care. I just want to be with you for the rest of our lives. No matter what that means." he whispered looking down at her.

"But Roger, I'm not me right now. I'm this frail, sickly girl with no hair." she said looking up at him.

"You are you. You are everything I want and everything I need." he said leaning down to kiss her.

"You really want to get married now? Here?" she asked wiping her eyes.

"Wherever is fine with me Baby. As long as I marry you, I'm fine." he smiled looking down at her.

"OK Roger. We'll get married here. Have my mom start the planning." she smiled looking up at him.

"Yeah?" he asked looking at her.

"Yeah and I'll even let her go all out." she smiled as he gave her a look.

"All out?" he asked raising his eye brow.

"Yeah, all out. I want the works." she smiled looking up at him as he leaned down and picked her up.

"This is gonna be the biggest wedding this place has ever seen." he yelled kissing her.

"Yeah, I have a feeling my mom's not gonna stop until it is." she laughed looking over at him.

"I love you Aid." he smiled looking over at her.

"I love you too Roger." she smiled holding him close.

* * *

"What did she say?" Olivia asked looking over at Grace.

"I think she said yes. And that she wants us to go all out." Grace said looking over at her in disbelief.

"OK you two, you can stop torturing me. I just want the day I marry Roger to be the greatest day of anyone's lives." she smiled as Roger held her in his arms.

"Just so we have this clear, you want us to go all out and make this the event of the summer?" Grace asked looking up at Adrianna.

"Yes mom. I want you and Maureen to go crazy." she smiled looking up at Roger.

"I promise we won't go too crazy Adrianna." Grace smiled getting up to hug her.

"Mom, I said I want you and Maureen to go crazy. I know what it means to tell you two that and I'm ready for it." she smiled looking over at her as she hugged her back.

"OK sweetie. Anything you want." she smiled looking up at Roger.


	15. Chapter 15

"Maureen, I don't know if I can do this." Adrianna said coming out of the dressing room in hers and Roger's room.

"Adrianna, don't you dare tell me you're thinking of standing Roger up at the alter." Maureen said looking over at her.

"No. I would never do that. I love Roger. I don't think I can go down there in front of all of my mothers friends looking like this." she said looking over at her.

"Looking like what? You look gorgeous Aid." Joanne said smiling at her as Olivia straightened the back of her gown.

"You really do Aid. You'll be lucky if Roger could breath enough to say I do." Olivia said looking at her.

"I don't know Liv. I mean, I always imagined my hair being down when I married Roger." she said looking over at her.

"So what? Your hair is a little shorter, but you're still the same girl he fell in love with and the same girl he asked to marry him." Liv smiled looking over at her as she started putting her veil on her.

"In sickness and in health, right?" she laughed looking up at her.

"That's right. He loves you and you love him. You two deserve this. And you're the one who told mom to go crazy." she laughed brushing her cheek.

"Yeah, what the hell was I thinking?" she laughed turning to look in the mirror.

"You were thinking you wanted happily ever after." Maureen smiled as Adrianna caught a glimpse of what she looked like.

"We are gonna be happy, right? I mean, Roger's HIV, my cancer. We are gonna be happy, right?" she asked staring at herself as she fixed her veil.

"Of course you are sweetie. You and Roger are in love." Grace smiled from the doorway before entering the room.

"But is love really enough mom? I mean, really?" she asked turning to her mother.

"Of course it is my sweet girl. You know, women wait their entire lives for a love like you and Roger have. The closest I came to having that was with your father. But our love wasn't tested the way yours and Roger has been and survived. His HIV and your cancer has brought you closer to one another. Your heart belongs to him and his belongs to you. I truly believe that." she smiled looking into her daughters bright blue eyes.

"Thank you for this mom. I really appreciate all the trouble you went through to make this happen for us." she smiled leaning in to hug her.

"It's no trouble. I'm just happy to help my daughter and her prince get married. Now, let's go down to your prince before he has a nervous breakdown and rushes up here to make sure you're all right." she smiled kissing Adrianna's cheek.

"That fiance of mine is a bit over protective, huh?" Adrianna laughed looking over at her.

"Yeah, but he loves you and doesn't want anything to happen to you. I can't fault him on that." Grace smiled looking over at her.

"Thanks mom." she smiled looking over at her as the women filed out of the room.

"Your flowers Aid." Maureen called out grabbing her bouquet before leaving the room.

"Thanks Maureen. Really. You guys are the best friends I've ever had." Adrianna smiled looking over at Maureen and Joanne.

"Ditto Aid." Joanna smiled looking over at her as they went down the stairs.

"Ready Babygirl?" Collins asked standing in the hallway outside Adrianna's bedroom.

"Yeah, I'm ready." she smiled looking up at him.

"Let's get you down to Roger, where you belong." he smiled looking down at her.

"OK, let's go." she smiled as they started towards the stairs.

"Are you nervous Rog? You look nervous." Mark asked looking over at Roger as he straightened out the shoulders of his tuxedo.

"Yes Mark, I'm terrified. Thanks for asking." he answered facing him as Mark looked over at him.

"I'm sorry Rog. Just breathe, OK? She'll be down in a little while and then you'll be Mr. And Mrs. Roger Davis. Mark said looking up at him.

"I'm just afraid she's up there getting sick or something. You know, she's still not over the nausea from the chemo and the radiation." she said looking over at him.

"Roger, she's fine. If anything was wrong, one of the girls would have rushed down her to get us. Don't worry. It's your wedding day." Ned smiled looking over at him.

"You think so? You think she's OK?" he asked looking over at Ned.

"Yeah, I do Roger. Don't worry." he smiled looking over at him.

"OK, you're right. Maureen or Joanne would have rushed down here to get me. They know how important she is to me. If anything happened to her, I don't know what I would do." he said holding back tears as Ned put his hand on Roger's shoulder.

"Nothing is gonna happen to her Roger. It's OK. Breathe." he said looking over at him.

"Right. Breathe. I can do that. I've been doing it for almost 30 years, right?" he repeated taking deep breaths.

"I think we're about to start Roger." Mark said intervening.

"OK. Thanks Ned. I really appreciate you being here for me. I mean, my own dad died when I was a kid and I'm not close to the rest of my family. It means a lot to have you here." he smiled looking over at Ned.

"There is no need to thank me Roger. I may be Adrianna's step father, but your friend too. Anything you or she needs, you do not hesitate to call me. Even if it's to just talk. I'm here." he smiled leaning in to hug him.

"Thanks." he smiled as the music started. The women began walking down the stairs. Grace was first, followed by Olivia and then Joanne. As they reached the bottom of the stairs, Maureen started down and then Adrianna as Collins escorted her down. She looked amazing. He couldn't take his eyes off of her.

"Roger, she looks incredible." Mark whispered leaning in to Roger. Roger couldn't speak. All he could do was nod in agreement. As the minister performed the ceremony, Roger couldn't help but look down at Adrianna. She looked so beautiful. They recited their vows flawlessly and they were pronounced husband and wife. The party that followed was fitting for Roger and Adrianna. Everyone told stories about them and Roger and Ned even stormed the stage to perform a few songs. Adrianna was like the old Adrianna again. Before the cancer. She laughed and drank and danced with everyone. Roger was so happy to see her like that. He missed that part of her. Their lives have been so plagued with illness, he almost forgot what she used to be like. Strong and carefree. By the end of the night, everyone was exhausted. Roger and Adrianna made their way up to their room. Adrianna couldn't wait to kick off her shoes and get out of her dress.

"You look incredible Baby. You are the most beautiful girl in the world." he smiled leaning down to kiss her.

"You don't look too bad yourself. I love the way you look in a tux." she smiled wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Thank you Aid." he whispered before kissing her again.

"For what?" she asked looking into his green eyes.

"For becoming Mrs. Roger Davis." he smiled before picking her up and carrying her to the bed.

"Roger, there is no one else I'd rather be." she whispered before kissing him. As he laid her gently on the bed, they began undressing each other and made love for the first time as husband and wife. The next morning there was knock on the door.

"Mr. And Mrs. Davis, get up." Olivia called out before slowly opening the door.

"Go away Liv. We don't want any." Roger laughed before covering his and Adrianna's heads with the blanket.

"No way you two. Mom had Consuela make a special breakfast for everyone and you two are the guests of honor. So get up." she laughed looking over at them.

"You know, now that you're my sister in law, I can kill you and no one would blame me." Roger laughed peaking out from under the covers.

"Idle threats. Now come on. Get dressed." she laughed before leaving the room.

"Aren't you glad we live in New York and she lives in Florida?" Adrianna asked laughing as she looked up at Roger.

"Never more glad than I am right now." he laughed leaning down to kiss her. "Good morning Mrs. Davis." he smiled holding her in his arms.

"Good morning Mr. Davis." she smiled holding him tighter.

"We better get downstairs. I don't want to spend my first full day as a married man in jail for killing your sister." he laughed looking down at her.

"OK Baby." she laughed as she got up and started getting dressed.

"Aid, I was thinking. Maybe we can go to Disney some time before we leave." he suggested looking over at her as he got dressed.

"Disney? How old are you 10?" she laughed looking over at him.

"I'm serious Aid. I've never been there and I want the first time I go to Disney to be with my wife." he smiled looking over at her. "Please Baby." he pleaded flashing her his green eyes and batting his eye lashes.

"OK Baby, we can go to Disney." she laughed running into his arms.

"Thank you Baby. I love you." he laughed catching her.

"I love you too Roger." she smiled leaning in to kiss him.

"We have to get downstairs now." he smiled looking into her bright blue eyes.

"OK Baby." she smiled as he let her down so they could join the others downstairs.

"Good morning newlyweds." Collins smiled before stuffing a fork full of pancakes into his mouth.

"Good morning everyone." Adrianna smiled looking down at them.

"Did you sleep well?" Grace asked smiling up at them.

"I slept the best I've ever slept." Adrianna answered smiling at her.


	16. Chapter 16

"Mom, are you sure this is such a good idea? I mean, bringing Maureen and Liv to Disneyworld at the same time? I don't think Disneyworld is equipped to handle the two of them together." Adrianna asked as they entered the park.

"Don't you think you're exaggerating Adrianna?" Grace asked as Olivia and Maureen ran off into the park.

"No." she laughed looking up at Roger.

"Come on Baby. I wanna go on some rides." Roger smiled taking her hand.

"Not you too Roger." she laughed looking up at him.

"What? I've never been to Disneyworld before. I'm excited." he smiled leaning down to kiss her before dragging her off into the park.

"Guess that just leaves us adults to supervise the little ones, huh Grace?" Collins laughed as the rest of them followed Roger, Adrianna, Maureen and Olivia.

"Speak for yourself Thomas." Ned laughed taking Grace's hand and dragging her off the the rides.

"This is probably the greatest vacation I've ever been on." Joanne smiled linking arms with Collins.

"Me too Babygirl." he smiled as they rushed off after them laughing. As they ventured around the park everyone laughed and had fun. Maureen and Olivia were joined at the hip and Adrianna and Roger held each other and went on rides the whole day. By the end of the day, everyone was tired and ready to go home.

"This was the best day ever." Roger smiled looking over at Adrianna as they drove back to the house.

"Yeah it was. Can you believe how Maureen and Olivia were acting. They were like little kids. I think they ate half the park." Adrianna laughed looking up at him.

"Yeah, it was nice to see everyone have fun like that." he smiled taking her hand and lifting it to his lips to kiss it.

"I know. It almost felt like HIV and cancer didn't exist." she smiled looking up at him.

"It doesn't." he smiled looking down at her as they pulled into the driveway of the house.

"Roger, we can't hide forever from this. We have to face it. We're both sick and may die within the next year." she said looking up at him with tears in her eyes.

"Adrianna, I have no regrets. Whatever happens, I love you and being with you is worth it." he said leaning over to her.

"Roger, I'm scared. I don't want to leave you." she cried looking over at him.

"Aid, you're not gonna leave me. We have a few more rounds of chemo and radiation and then we'll take it from there." he told her wiping her face.

"Roger, I want this thing out of me." she said looking over at him.

"I know Baby. They need to shrink it first." he said looking over at her.

"I don't know how much longer I can take these treatments Roger." she cried as he brought her to him.

"I know it's hard Baby, but you have to do it if you're gonna get better. You can survive this." he said looking down at her.

"I don't know anymore Roger. I just don't know." she cried into his chest.

"Is everything OK?" Grace asked going out to the car.

"Yeah, I'm fine mom. We'll be in in a minute." Adrianna told her wiping her eyes.

"OK sweetie." she said looking over at them before going into the house.

"Is everything OK?" Ned asked looking over at her as everyone sat in the living room.

"I don't know. Adrianna's crying." she siad looking over at him.

"She'll be OK Grace. Aid's just feeling a lot of stress over the treatments and stuff." Maureen said looking over at her.

"I can imagine. It must not be easy for her being sick all the time, but she's been doing better, right?" she asked looking over at her.

"Yeah, but her next round of treatment starts next week and she's just not looking forward to it." she said as they heard the door open.

"I'm gonna go up to bed. It's been a long few days." Adrianna said heading straight upstairs.

"I'll be up in a minute Baby." Roger said looking up at her as she kept going up.

"Is she OK?" Collins asked looking over at him.

"Yeah, she's gonna be OK. She's just sick of the treatments." he said sitting on the couch next to him.

"But she's gonna keep going through them, right?" Grace asked looking over at him.

"Yeah, she is. It's just hard for her. I mean, she feels good now, but when she starts going through the treatments again, she knows she's gonna feel sick again." he said looking over at her.

"I know, I wish there was something we could do for her." she said looking over at Ned.

"Money can't fix this Grace. I wish to God it could, but it can't." he told her quietly before getting up to go upstairs.

* * *

"Aid, we gotta go." Roger said as Adrianna, Grace and Olivia said their goodbyes.

"OK baby, I'm coming. Bye mom." she smiled looking over at Grace.

"Take care of each other, OK." Grace said looking up at Roger.

"We will Grace, don't worry about it. I'll take care of her." he smiled looking down at her as he hugged her.

"Call me when you get home, OK?" she smiled as everyone loaded their bags into their cars.

"We will. Thank you so much Grace. We had a great time." Joanne smiled looking over at them.

"Anytime you kids want to come down for some R & R, you don't hesitate, OK? We would love to have you." she smiled hugging everyone goodbye.

"Thanks mom. We will." Adrianna smiled looking over at them. As everyone filed into their rental cars they began to drive to the airport to go back to New York. Back to reality. "This was probably the best month of my life." Adrianna smiled looking up at Roger.

"It's only the beginning Baby. As my wife, you are going to have the best of everything." he smiled kissing her hand.

"I love you Roger." she smiled looking over at her.

"I love you too Aid." he smiled as they continued to the airport.

* * *

_In NY a week later_

"Roger, this is killing me. I can't take it anymore." Adrianna cried leaning over the toilet.

"I know Baby, I'm so sorry. It'll get better." he told her quietly as he rubbed her back.

"This is not getting any better Roger. It's getting worse. I feel like my insides are coming out." she cried looking up at him.

"Aid, it's gonna be OK. You just have to fight it." he said looking down at her.

"How could you stand this? Sitting here watching me throw my guts up all day, every day." she asked sitting back against the wall.

"Because I love you Aid. You're my wife and I'm not gonna leave you." he said looking down at her as he sat next to her.

"But why? I mean, you're supposed to be out there performing for these beautiful, healthy girls and you're here with me watching me whither away." she cried into her hands.

"You're my Tiny Dancer Aid. I'd rather be here with you and you're not whithering away. You're gonna be through with this and you're gonna be healthy again. I promise." he whispered kissing her head.

"How can you promise something like that Roger? It's impossible. Not even the doctors can promise that." she yelled getting up but losing her balance and sliding back down to the floor. "Dammit, why am I so weak?" she asked crying louder.

"You'll get stronger Aid. You just have to give it time." he said looking over at her feeling helpless.

"I don't want to give it time. Roger you have no idea what it's like. I feel inadequate as a wife and as a woman. Most nights I'm too sick or tired to have sex." she yelled trying to get up again as he helped her.

"Aid, I watched Angel and Mimi whither away to nothing. You're not whithering away to nothing and you're gonna get better after these damn treatments are over." he said taking her into his arms and holding her.

"We don't know that." she whispered wth her face buried in his chest.

"I'm sorry Aid." he whispered kissing her head as he picked her up and brought her to the bedroom to lay down. "Why don't you rest now, OK Baby?" he whispered putting her down gently on the bed.

"I'm sorry for the breakdown Roger. I just feel like this is all too much. Like I can't take it anymore. The throwing up, the not eating, the sleeping so much. I don't know how much more of this I can take." she cried looking up at him.

"It's OK Baby. Just take it easy for now. I'll go make you some eggs." he said looking down at her as he covered her with a blanket.

"OK. I'm just gonna take a nap. I'm really tired." she told him quietly as he leaned down to kiss her head.

"I love you Aid." he whispered as she fell asleep.

"I love you too Roger." she mumbled in her sleep. He looked down at her as he got out of bed. She looked so small and fragile. He hated seeing her like this, but he didn't want to lose her. He closed the door slowly before going to the kitchen for a glass of water. He wanted to cry. Seeing her like that was difficult for him. He was the one who was supposed to be getting weaker, not his beautiful, vibrant Tiny Dancer. She was the love of his life and she was suffering. He wanted the doctors to just go in and take out the tumor. He didn't care that they wouldn't be able to have children. All he wanted was for her to get well. He wanted his Tiny Dancer to get well. He went to the phone and called Adrianna's doctor.

"Yes, hi, this is Roger Davis. My wife Adrianna is a patient of the doctor's and I need to talk to him about something... thank you." he said quietly as he waited for the doctor. "Yes, hi, this is Roger Davis. Adrianna Davis' husband. Um, I was wondering if there's any way we can meet. You know, just you and me." he said looking at the closed bedroom door. "How about tomorrow?" he asked looking around. "First thing in the morning is perfect. OK, I'll see you then. Thank you. Bye." he said before handing up the phone.

"Roger, are you here?" Adrianna asked coming out of the bedroom slowly.

"Yeah Baby, I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere." he said looking up before going to her.


	17. Chapter 17

"Mr. Davis, how can I help you?" the doctor asked looking over at him.

"Doctor, I want you to operate on my wife. Take the tumor out. I can't stand to see her like this anymore. She's sick all the time, she's tired all the time. She can't take it anymore. These treatments are killing her worse than the cancer." he said looking over at the doctor still standing up.

"Mr. Davis, you do realize that if we go in now and remove the tumor before we've shrunk it, she won't be able to have children. We'll have to do a hysterectomy due to the size of the tumor." he said looking at him.

I understand that. I don't care. I just want my wife well. Please." he said looking over at him.

"Does your wife agree with this? I can't do this without her OK." he said looking up at him.

"She thinks I want to have kids, and I do, but not at the expense of my wife's life. Please, make her understand that this is the only way." he said looking up at him.

"She will still have to go through her chemo, but they won't be so intense due to the fact that the tumor will not be there anymore." he said looking over at him.

"That's fine, she just can't take the treatments the way they are now. She wants to stop them." he said looking up at him as he sat in the chair.

"She can't stop them. Stopping them now would be very dangerous for her." the doctor said looking down at him.

"I know that. Don't you think I know that? If she stops them, she's gonna die." he yelled looking up at him.

"I'm sorry Mr. Davis. I know you know that. I was just saying..." the doctor started as Roger interrupted him.

"No, I'm sorry. I'm just really on edge over this. Watching her throw up from the treatments for the last few months has been torture. I mean, she's losing weight because she can't eat anything because she either doesn't have an appetite or she's afraid she's gonna throw it up." he said running his fingers through his hair.

"I understand. I'll talk to her, Mr. Davis." the doctor said looking down at him.

"Thank you. I appreciate that." Roger said getting up to shake his hand.

"No problem Mr. Davis. Just take care of her, OK?" he said looking up at him.

"Of course I will. She's my life." Roger told him before leaving the office. As Roger walked home, he felt relief. He wanted to tell Adrianna what the doctor said, but knew she would be angry with him if she found out that he went to see her doctor without telling her. So he opted to keep that meeting a secret from her. When he walked into the apartment, Maureen was sitting in the living room reading a magazine. "How is she?" he asked taking his coat off.

"She's sleeping now. She had a rough morning though." he said looking up at him.

"Is she OK now?" he asked quietly looking down at her.

"Yeah, but I don't like the way these treatments make her talk. She talks about not wanting to continue them and that she doesn't want you to watch her whither away only to die on you." she said looking up at him.

"I know, but her doctor said that he could perform a hysterectomy and take out the tumor and then her treatments wouldn't have to be so intense." he said looking over at her.

"Is she gonna go along with this?" she asked quietly as he sat on the couch next to her.

"I don't know. She's not crazy about not being able to have kids, but I don't care Maureen. I love her too much to let her die. And then we'll never be able to have kids anyway." he said quietly looking over at the bedroom door.

"Roger, I know this is hard, but she's not gonna die. She's just having a rough time with these damn treatments." she said looking at him.

"Yeah, well I'm not so sure Maureen. I have to do what's best for my wife." he said getting up from the couch going to the kitchen for a drink.

"I know Roger." she said looking up at him as he drank his water.

* * *

"I keep telling you. I don't want a hysterectomy. I wanna be able to have mine and my husband's children." Adrianna said looking up at the doctor as Roger sat silent in the chair. 

"Adrianna, there's no other way to make these treatments less intense." he told her sitting on the edge of the desk looking at Roger.

"Will the cancer be gone once you take it out?" she asked looking up at him.

"There's no reason for it not to be. It hasn't spread to your lymph nodes, so it looks good Adrianna." the doctor said as she looked over at Roger.

"Roger, what do you think?" she asked looking over at him.

"I think you should do it Aid." he said quietly looking over at her.

"But what about our children Roger? Children we'll never have?" she asked as tears entered her eyes.

"I don't care about that Aid. I just want you to get well." he said taking her hand.

"I need to think about it." she said looking up at the doctor.

"That's fine Adrianna. Just call me as soon as possible to let me know. I have to schedule an OR for the procedure." he said looking down at them.

"OK. Thank you doctor." Roger said as they left the office.

"What do you think I should do Roger?" she asked as they left the office.

"I think you should do it Baby. I don't want anything to happen to you." he said looking down at her.

"Yeah but Roger..." she started before he cut her off.

"Adrianna, I don't give a damn about that. All I care about is spending the rest of our lives together. I don't want to lose you Aid." he said stopping her in the middle of the sidewalk.

"Why, so I can outlive you and have nothing of you?" she asked looking up at him.

"Aid, you're not gonna have nothing of me. You have my love for you and Mark, Maureen, Joanne and Collins. But I'm not going anywhere yet. I'm healthier than I've ever been." he said looking down at her.

"I know. I just need to think about it." she said leaning up to kiss him before they started to walk home. "I'm gonna go lay down, OK? I'm tired." she said looking up at him as they entered the apartment.

"OK Baby. I love you." he said looking down at her.

"I love you too Roger." she said looking up at him before going into the bedroom. Roger began pacing around the apartment. He wanted Adrianna to have the surgery. He understood her point of view, but she didn't have to bear his children for him to love her. All he wanted was her to live.

* * *

"Aid, have you decided what you're gonna do about the surgery?" Maureen asked looking over at her as they sat in the loft. 

"I don't know, I want to be able to have kids with Roger when this whole nightmare is over. And if I have the surgery I won't be able to." she said looking up at her.

"Um, what if they harvest your eggs until you get better and then someone else can carry your child for you." Maureen suggested looking up at her.

"What do you mean, like a surrogate?" she asked confused.

"Yeah, I mean, you'd still be able to have yours and Roger's child, but someone else will be pregnant with it." she said as Roger, Mark and Collins entered the loft.

"But who would do it?" she asked looking up at her.

"Me." Maureen volunteered looking over at her.

"What are you girls talking about?" Roger asked leaning down to kiss Adrianna.

"Maureen just volunteered to carry out child for us if I get the surgery." she said staring at Maureen.

"Why would you do that Babygirl?" Collins asked looking down at her.

"Because Roger and Adrianna deserve to have a child and I wanna help them so Aid can have the surgery to save her life. What's wrong with that?" she asked getting up from the couch.

"And how's Joanne gonna feel about this?" Mark asked looking over at her.

"I already mentioned it to her and she thinks it's a good thing. Neither one of us want kids and Roger and Aid want them so bad, but with Aid so sick, it's not gonna happen without the surgery. She could be dead without the surgery and I don't want my best friend to die like my other best friends." she said starting to cry.

"Maureen, I'm not gonna die. I'm just having a really rough time with the treatments. Once I complete the rest of them, I'll be OK and then I'll be able to have kids on my own." Adrianna said going over to her.

"But I want you to have the surgery Aid. You can't not have the surgery. Without it, you could die. You'll gave the surgery and I'll give you a baby. I want to do this for you. For both of you." Maureen said looking over at Adrianna.

"But how?" Roger asked breaking his silence.

"They could take eggs out of Aids uterus and then when you guys are ready, they could fertilize it with Roger's... you know, and then implant the fertilized egg into me and then bada bing, bada boom, 9 months later Roger and Aid will have their baby. It'll still be their baby, I'll just be the one carrying it." she told him as they all looked at her stunned.

"And you're gonna be able to give up a baby that you carried for 9 months and hand it over to Roger and Aid? Watching it grow up in front of you and it won't bother you?" Mark asked looking up at her.

"It's for a good cause. My friends. I wanna do this for them." she said looking at him.

"You're serious? I mean, really serious?" Roger asked moving closer to her.

"I'm very serious Roger. I wanna do this for you two." she said looking over at Adrianna wiping her eyes.

"Thank you Maureen. I mean, thank you." Roger leaned down to pick her up excitedly.

"Roger, we need to talk about this." Adrianna said looking over at him.

"What is there to talk about Baby? Maureen is giving you a way to get what you want and still have this thing taken out of you." he asked looking down at her.

"I don't know how I feel about someone else carrying my child for me. Even if it is my best friend. I need to get some air." she said taking her coat and her purse.

"But Aid." he said going over to her.

"Roger, please. I need to go out for some air. I'll meet you back at the apartment. Thank you Maureen. I love you." she smiled looking up at her before leaving the loft.

"I'll go after her." Collins said looking over at Roger before following her down the stairs. "Aid, wait up." Collins called out chasing her down the stairs.

"I need to think about things Collins. I wouldn't be such good company." she said looking up at him.

"That's OK Baby. You can talk to me, yell at me, whatever you need to do." he smiled looking down at her as they reached the street.

"I'm not gonna yell at you Collins. I just need to think about things." she said linking her arm with his as they walked to the park.

"What do you need to think about? You want a child that's yours and Rogers and Maureen can give it to you." he said looking down at her.

"Yeah, but it wouldn't feel like it was my child, you know? I would feel like I was raising Maureen's child, you know?" she asked looking up at him with tears in her eyes.

"But Babygirl, it would be yours and Roger's child. All Maureen would be doing is carrying the child for you. She really wants to do this for you." he explained looking down at her.

"It's really nice of her to offer, huh?" she said looking up at him.

"Yeah it is. But that's Maureen. She'll do anything for her family." he smiled putting his arms around her.

"I don't know. What should I do?" she asked looking up at him wiping her eyes.

"I can't tell you what to do Aid. You should just do what you think is best for you and Roger. But if you want my opinion, I think you should do it." he said looking down at her.

"I want to. But I still need to think about it. Thank you Collins. I love you." she said as he kissed her head.

"And I love you too Babygirl. Never doubt that." he smiled looking down at her.

"I don't. The way you all stood by me through all of this. I never could have made it without you all. And how Maureen helped my mom plan the wedding. She made sure everything was perfect for me and Roger. I've never had friends like you guys before." she said looking up at him.

"We love you Babygirl. We all do." he smiled as he took her face in his hands.

"I know. I love you too Collins. All of you." she smiled looking up at him.

"So what do you wanna do?" he asked looking into her bright blue eyes.

"Why don't we go for a walk? It's been a while since I've spent time with you." she smiled looking up at him.

"I think that's an excellent idea sweetie." he smiled wrapping his arms around her as they walked to the park.


	18. Chapter 18

"Are you OK Baby?" Roger asked as she and Collins entered the apartment.

"Yeah, I'm OK. My big brother has taken very good care of me." she smiled looking up at Collins.

"I'm gonna get going Babygirl. I have a Life Support meeting to go to. I'll check up on you later." he smiled looking down at her.

"OK sweetie. Tell everyone we said hi. I love you." she smiled looking up at him.

"I will Babygirl. I love you too. Bye Rog." Collins smiled looking over at him.

"Thanks Collins, I'll see you later." he smiled looking up at him.

"No problem. She's my girl too." he smiled before leaving the apartment.

"Is everything OK Baby?" he asked looking over at her as he went over to her.

"Yeah Baby. Everything's fine. We were just walking around and I had some thinking to do." she said looking up at him.

"Have you decided anything?" he asked looking down at her.

"Yeah, I've decided that I think I would like to try it. Maureen being our surrogate so we can have a child when I'm healthy." she said as Roger looked down at her.

"Are you sure?" he asked looking down at her.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I wanna do it. I'll have my eggs harvested and have the surgery." she smiled looking up at him.

"You have no idea how relieved I am that you're gonna do this Baby. Everything's gonna be OK. You'll see." he said leaning down to kiss her.

"I hope so Roger. I really hope so." she said looking up at him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Are you ready Baby?" he asked looking down at her as she laid in the hospital bed.

"Yeah, I'm ready. I'm scared though." she said looking up at him as the nurse walked in.

"I know Baby, me too. But you're gonna be OK. You're in good hands. I love you Aid." he whispered leaning down to kiss her.

"I love you too Roger." she smiled looking into each other's eyes.

"Are you ready Mrs. Davis? We need to prep you for your surgery now." the nurse asked looking down at them.

"Yeah I'm ready. I'll see you later Roger. I love you." she repeated as tears rolled down her eyes.

"I love you too Aid. You're gonna be OK." he said feigning a smile for Adrianna's sake.

"You're gonna be fine Mrs. Davis. The doctor is very good at what he does." the nurse smiled looking down at Adrianna.

"Just make sure he takes care of my girl, OK? She's my Tiny Dancer." he told her holding Adrianna's hand tight.

"We will Mr. Davis. Don't worry about it." she said looking over at him as they began wheeling Adrianna out of the room.

"Is she OK? Is she scared?" Mark asked looking up at Roger.

"Of course she's scared Mark. She's getting her insides taken out." he said sitting down in the chair with his head in his hands.

"I'm sorry Roger. That was a stupid question." Mark said looking over at Roger.

"No, I'm sorry Mark. I'm just really scared for her and there's nothing I can do." he said looking up at him.

"You're doing it Roger. You're making sure she's doing what's best for her health." he said looking down at him.

"Yeah, I know. I just can't stand this damn waiting." he said looking up at him.

"I know Rog. Um, do you wanna go down to the chapel? Collins mentioned that he was going down there. I mean, I know you're not religious or anything, but it could help. You know, ask Angel and Mimi to watch over her. You know they will." he suggested looking down at him.

"You think they are?" he asked looking up at him.

"Of course they are. Roger, she's a part of this family just like they were. They would never want anything to happen to her." he said folding his arms across his chest.

"Maybe that is a good idea." he agreed looking up at him.

"I'll stay here. If there's anything to tell you, I'll find you." he said looking down at him.

"Thanks Mark. I appreciate it." Roger said getting up and heading down to the chapel.

"Hey Rog. You here to talk to them too?" Collins asked looking up as he heard Roger's boots on the floor.

"Yeah." he answered sitting down.

"I'll give you some privacy. She's gonna be OK, you know? They won't let anything happen to her." he said getting up and putting his hand on Roger's shoulder.

"Thanks man. I'll be up in a little while." he said looking up before Collins left the chapel.

"Hey Mimi, Angel. Listen, I know I don't talk to you guys very often and I'm sorry. It's just... I need you guys to look after Aid for me, OK? Um... I'm sorry Mimi, I'm in love with her. I mean, really in love with her. She's um... she's my wife Mimi. I think you would really like her. I mean, yeah she's rich, but she's not one of those rich bitches. She's so amazing. And she loves me Mimi. The way you always said I deserved to be loved. She's in surgery right now and I really need you two to look out for her for me. I feel so helpless out here. I mean, I can't do anything for her. The cancer is in her and I can't take it out of her. Please just look out for her for me, OK? I'd really appreciate it." he asked looking up at the ceiling as tears fell from his eyes.

"Roger, what are you doing here?" Maureen asked as she and Joanne walked into the chapel.

"I'm just talking to Mimi and Angel. Asking them to look out for Aid. What are you guys doing here?" he asked looking up at them as he wiped his eyes.

"The same. We ran in to Mark upstairs." Joanne said looking down at him.

"Is there any work on Aid?" he asked looking over at her.

"No. Nothing yet. We just want to make sure she's gonna be OK. I figure they have an in with the big guy." Maureen smiled sitting down next to him.

"Thanks guys. Really. I appreciate you guys being here." he said looking over at them.

"She's gonna be OK Roger. They're gonna take the cancer out and she's gonna be fine." Joanne said looking over at him.

"And they're gonna get her eggs out so we can make you guys parents one day." Maureen smiled looking over at him.

"At this point Maureen, that is the last thing on my mind." he said looking over at her.

"I know Rog." Maureen said putting her arms around him.

"I'm gonna go back upstairs and wait for Aid to come out of surgery. I'll see you guys up there." he said getting up and leaving the chapel.

"She better be OK JO. I don't think Roger could take it if anything happened to her." Maureen said looking up at Joanne.

"I know." she said before sitting down next to her.

"Any word yet?" Roger asked as he walked into the waiting room where Mark and Collins were sitting.

"No man. Nothing yet. Here, take a cup of coffee. Maureen and Joanne dropped it off before they headed downstairs.

"Thanks man." he said taking a cup of coffee from Collins and beginning to drink it.

"Roger, did we miss her? Our damn flight was delayed." Grace called out entering the waiting room.

"Yeah, she went in about an hour ago." he said looking up at her.

"Is she OK?" Ned asked as Grace looked over at him.

"Yeah, so far. They haven't come out to tell us anything yet though." he said looking up at them.

"She's gonne be OK Roger. You'll see." Olivia said looking down at him.

"I hope so." he told her drinking his coffee.

"Mr. Davis." the doctor called out standing in the doorway of the waiting room.

"Yes." he said jumping up as Collins took his coffee from him.

"Adrianna's fine. She's in post op right now. You'll be able to see her in a little while. We got the tumor out and it doesn't look like it spread. But we were only able to harvest about a half a dozen eggs because of the cancer, but that's not bad considering. Don't worry Roger. She's fine." he said looking up at him.

"Thank you so much doctor. Really, thank you." Roger said as everyone looked at him happily.

"Of course she's OK. Babygirl's a fighter." Collins smiled looking up at him.

"You can see her in a little while. She's still out from the anesthesia. I think we got it all roger." she said looking over at him.

"Thank you again doctor." he said looking over at Grace.

"She's gonna be OK sweetie. Don't worry." she smiled wrapping his arms around her.

"I'm just so scared Grace. She's my life." he told her beginning to cry.

"I know sweetie, and you're hers." she said rubbing his back comfortingly.

"Come on Rog. Let's go for a walk until you can go see her." Collins said looking over at him.

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea. I don't want to see her like this. I need to pull myself together." he said looking up at him as he wiped his eyes.

"OK, I'll stay here. She's OK Roger." Grace smiled reaching up to caress his face.

"Thanks Grace. I appreciate you guys being here. I'll be back soon." he smiled looking down at her before he and Collins left the waiting room.

"Are you OK Roger?" Collins asked looking over at him.

"No. My wife just had surgery to get this damn cancer out and I'm scared to death that she's gonna regret it." he said startig to cry again.

"I know Rog, but you did it to save her life. There's nothing wrong with wanting to save your wife." he said looking over at him.

"Yeah, but am I being selfish to want her to live just because I'm afraid to watch her die?" he asked looking over at him.

"No Roger. There's something that can be done for her to save her. It's not like us. All we have are a handful of pills every damn day. There's nothing wrong with you wanting what's best for her." he said putting his arm around his shoulders.

"Yeah but is her getting her insides taken out just because I don't want to watch another person I love die what's best for her?" he asked looking over at him.

"Roger, she's a strong woman. She doesn't have to die because of this." he said looking over at him.

"I know." he said as Ned came outside.

"She's awake Roger. The nurse said she's asking for you." he said looking over at them.

"Thanks Ned." he said wiping his eyes before rushing back into the hospital. He ran up the stairs to the surgical ward and rushed into her hospital room.

"Roger, did they get it? Did they get it all?" she asked quietly seeing him enter the room.

"Yeah Baby. They got it all. You're OK. And they were even able to retrieve some eggs. It's OK. You're OK." he smiled taking her face in his hands and leaning down to kiss her dried lips.

"Oh thank God." she cried looking up at him.

"Everything's gonna be OK Baby now. You're OK now. I love you so much Aid." he whipered gently taking her into his arms.

"I love you so much too Roger." she cried as he held her in his arms.


	19. Chapter 19

"Roger, can you turn the damn heat down please? I'm dying here." Adrianna complained fanning herself.

"Baby, it's January. If I turn the heat down anymore, I'm gonna get frostbite." he laughed looking upat her from the couch with a blanket over him.

"I'm sorry, these damn hot flashes are killing me." she smiled sitting down next to him.

"I'm sorry Aid. I know this is hard on you. But it'll get better. Maybe the doctor can put you on the HRT?" he suggested looking over at her putting his arms around her.

"No, the HRT will just increase my chances of getting other types of cancer. That's a can of worms I don't need. I'll be OK. I just have to get used to roasting in the middle of winter." she laughed leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Your last treatment is tomorrow. Is there anything special you want to do?" he asked playing with her shoulder length hair.

"Yeah, I wanna go out and get drunk. I mean really really drunk." she smiled looking up at him.

"Are you sure that's such a good idea Baby. You remember how you get when you're drunk." he laughed looking over at her.

"I don't care. Roger, I've been going through these damn treatments for over a year. I wanna get wild with my friends." she smiled playing with his hair.

"OK Baby. If that's what you want, that's what you'll get." he smiled leaning up to kiss her.

"Thank you. You set it up. I'm gonna go make dinner." she smiled caressing his stubbled cheek.

"Tomorrow night is gonna be the greatest night of your life. I promise." he smiled looking up at her.

"No way. The night I walked into that bar. That was the greatest night of my life." she smlied before going to the kitchen.

* * *

"I can't believe her treatments are finally over." Maureen smiled drinking her wine.

"I know. It's been a long road, but she made it." Collins smiled looking over at her.

"Do you think they'll be wanting a baby soon?" Mark asked looking over at Maureen.

"I hope so. There's no reason why they wouldn't. And I can't wait to give them their baby." she smiled looking out the window where Roger and Adrianna were outside kissing.

"Geez, those two never let up." Collins laughed watching them. Roger was kissing her nose and caressing her face as she laughed.

"I hope one day, I'm half as in love as they are." Mark smiled as he began filming them.

"They are in love, aren't they?" Joanne smiled as Roger picked Adrianna up and carried her into the cafe.

"The queen is here. Let the celebration begin." Roger yelled with Adrianna in his arms as she giggled.

"OK, you can put me down now Roger." she laughed looking down at her.

"So how do you feel Aid? No more chemo, your hair is growing back and you're totally healthy." Mark asked directing his camera towards her as Roger let her down.

"I feel amazing. Now I wanna get drunk with my friends and put this part of my life behind me." she smiled looking over at him.

"So let's get started." Collins smiled raising his hand for the waiter.

"Stoli neat Baby?" Roger asked looking down at her.

"Of course." she laughed looking up at him. As they drank and laughed Adrianna never felt more alive. She was finally done with the treatments and she was cancer free. She looked over at Maureen and smiled.

"What's the matter Aid?" Maureen asked looking over at her.

"Nothing. I'm just looking at the woman I want to carry mine and Roger's child." she smiled as Roger put his arm around her.

"Say the word and I'm yours." she smiled looking at her.

"Word." Roger smiled looking down at Adrianna.

"Huh?" Maureen asked confused.

"We're ready Maureen." Adrianna smiled looking over at her.

"Are you serious?" she asked looking over at them putting her wine glass down.

"Yeah, we're serious. We're ready. We want to have a baby now." she smiled looking over at her.

"OK, when do you want to start?" she asked looking over at her.

"Soon." he smiled looking over at her.

"OK. We'll make an appointment for the doctor as soon as possible." Maureen smiled looking over at them.

"Thank you Maureen. We were hoping you would say that." Adrianna smiled getting up to go and hug her.

"Anything for my best friends." she smiled hugging Adrianna.

* * *

"I'm sorry Maureen." Adrianna said sticking a needle in her leg. She needed to start taking fertility shots before she could be inseminated.

"It's OK. I can take it. Anything for you." Maureen said not looking down at her.

"Maureen, can I ask you something?" Adrianna asked wiping her leg with an alcohol pad.

"What's up sweetie?" Maureen asked looking over at her.

"Were you around when Roger was shooting up with that girl April?" she asked sitting on the bed next to her.

"Sweetie, he's not that guy anymore." Maureen said looking over at her.

"I know, but was he really that different?" she asked looking at her.

"Yeah, he was a whole other person. When he was with April, it was like he was dead, you know? She killed who he used to be with that stuff." she said looking over at her.

"Do you think Roger would be who he is if he hadn't gotten HIV?" she asked looking over at her.

"No, I don't. But the HIV was a blessing in disguise for him. April killed herself and he found out he was positive and he decided he didn't want to be a junkie for the rest of his life. He tried harder to make his mark on the world. He wanted to do something people would remember him for." she said looking over at her.

"And then he fell in love with Mimi." she said looking over at her.

"Yeah, and she got him out of the house and writing again. But then we lost Angel and Mimi wasn't long after her. He shut down after that, only he didn't lock himself in the loft. He was working and stuff, but he wasn't writing or anything. Until he met you. You changed his life Aid." she smiled looking over at her.

"He changed my life too. I never thought I'd ever be loved the way Roger loves me." she said as tears filled her eyes.

"Hey, I'm the one being shot up with hormones. Why are you emotional?" Maureen teased looking over at Adrianna.

"I'm sorry Maureen. I just never thought I'd ever be loved like this, you know? I mean, yeah my famiily loved me, but having you guys is different. I mean, you volunteering to carry mine and Roger's baby for us and asking nothing in return. I've never had a friend like you before." she said looking over at Maureen.

"Sweetie, all I ask of you is that you and Roger keep loving each other and love your baby like I know you will." she smiled looking over at her.

"We will Maureen. You know we will. We want this baby more than anything." she smiled looking over at her.

"I know sweetie. That's why I'm doing this for you. Because I know you'll make a great mom and I know Roger's gonna be the best dad a kid could ask for." she smiled reaching over to hug her.

"I know he will. There is no doubt in my mind. I just wish I was the one carrying it." she said looking over at her.

"I know sweetie, but my uterus is your uterus." she smiled looking over at her.

"Thanks Maureen. I appreciate that." she smiled before getting up to leave the bedroom.

"No problem Aid. I just can't wait until I can hand over that beautiful baby to you and Roger and watch you love it the way you love each other." she smiled looking over at her.

"And we're gonna love this baby so much. I mean, we love this baby already and there is no baby yet." Adrianna smiled looking over at her.

"I know Aid." she smiled hugging her again before getting up from the bed and going into the living room.


	20. Chapter 20

"What is taking so long?" Roger asked looking up at Adrianna.

"I don't know. Stop asking that." Adrianna snapped pacing around the examining room.

"I'm sorry Baby. I'm just nervous." he said rubbing his hands together.

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you. I'm nervous too." she said sitting next to him in the chair.

"I wish you would both calm down. I'm the one who's waiting to see if I have a bun in my oven." Maureen laughed sitting on the examing table.

"Sorry Maureen." Adrianna laughed looking up at her. Roger took Adrianna's hand and squeezed it. She leaned her head on his shoulder and he leaned down to kiss it.

"OK, are you three ready to find out if you're gonna be having a baby?" the doctor asked as she entered the examing room.

"Oh God yes." Adrianna told her as Roger and Maureen laughed. "What? I'm nervous." she smiled looking up at them.

"Well Adrianna, you have every reason to be nervous because you're going to be a mother." the doctor smiled looking down at her.

"You mean we're..." she started as Roger put his arms around her.

"Well I believe the medical term is pregnant." the doctor laughed looking over at her.

"Oh my God Baby." Roger called out taking Adrianna into his arms.

"Maureen." Adrianna cried looking up at Maureen.

"I know sweetie." Maureen looked at her as she put her hand on her stomach.

"OK now can I go shopping?" Adrianna asked looking up at Roger with tears in her eyes.

"Yes Baby, not you can go shopping." he laughed kissing her head.

"Maureen, thank you." Adrianna smiled getting up to hug Maureen.

"This is gonna be the greatest experience of my life." she smiled hugging Adrianna.

* * *

"I never thought I'd see the day when Maureen would be pregnant and happy." Joanne laughed looking over at Maureen as they sat in the Life Cafe celebrating.

"Yeah well, it's for a good cause." Maureen smiled drinking her water.

"I can't believe our baby in growing inside of Maureen." Roger said looking over at her.

"Bet you never thought I'd be carrying your child, huh Rog?" Maureen laughed looking over at Roger.

"If it wasn't Adrianna's egg, I'd be getting drunk for a whole other reason." Roger laughed as Adrianna slapped his arm laughing.

"Yeah, it wouldn't be a picnic for me either. You're not exactly my type." she laughed smiling over at him.

"What's that? Male?" he asked as Collins put his hand over his mouth laughing.

"Oh snap, Mo. Score one for the pretty boy." Collins laughed lifting his hand to give Roger a high five.

"OK, does my child have to be subjected to this juvenile bickering." Adrianna laughed looking around the table.

"You're right Aid, we should be celebrating." Mark smiled looking over at them.

"So let's celebrate." she smiled looking up at Roger. The twinkle in her blue eyes struck him. He hadn't seen her eyes so bright since the night he proposed to her. Seeing her so happy made him fall in love with her all over again. "What's the matter Baby?" she asked smiling up at him as she drank her wine.

"Nothing Aid. Absolutely nothing." he smiled leaning over to kiss her head.

"I'm gonna kidnap my husband for a minute, OK? Don't celebrate too much without us. We're the parents you know." Adrianna smiled taking Roger's hand and leading him outside. "What's with you tonight? You're acting weird." she asked smiling up at him as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"What do you mean weird?" he asked wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close to him.

"I don't know, you're just looking at me strange." she said leaning up to kiss him.

"I'm just really happy Aid. I've never been this happy." he smiled holding her closer.

"Roger, when I met you, I was a mess. I mean, I didn't know where I belonged. I was unhappy with my life and I had nothing. And then I walked into this little hole in the wall bar and there you were. I sat at the bar and you were so amazing to me. You watched out for me. When we danced that first slow dance, I felt the chemistry between us. You were trying to keep your distance, but it was happening. And now here we are. Almost 2 years later. We've been through so much and now we're gonna have a baby. You and me are gonna be parents." she smiled as tears stung her eyes.

"Aid, when we met, I wasn't living. I was just existing. You, you're the one who made me come alive. When you were diagnosed, I felt like my world was crashing down. I never wanted to out live you. I was so scared, you have no idea. I was afraid I was gonna lose you and it scared me to death. The thought of losing you was worst than the thought of dying myself. All I wanted was that damn thing out of you. I didn't care that we couldn't have kids because none of it meant anything without being able to share it with you. But now that Maureen's pregnant, I have never been happier than I am right now. You're healthy and we're gonna have a baby. I love you so much Aid." he smiled looking into her bright blue eyes.

"I love you so much too Roger. You have no idea." she smiled standing up on her tippy toes pressing her lips to his and kissing him hard.

"We should go back inside before I pick you up and take you home with me." he laughed looking down at her.

"And that would be bad?" she smiled looking up at him.

"Not from where I'm standing, but I have a feeling everyone else would have a problem with it." he smiled kissing her again.

"You make a good point my darling husband." she laughed looking up into his mesmerizing green eyes.

"Of course I do my beautiful wife, but don't let me forget where we left off." he smiled kissing her again.

"I promise." she whispered holding him closer to her as everyone watched them through the window.

"That is why I am proud to be carrying their child. The love they have for each other is epic." Maureen smiled holding Joanna's hand.

"They are beautiful together, aren't they?" Joanne asked looking over at Maureen.

"That they are." Collins smiled watching them.

"Aren't you two the cutest thing?" Grace smiled rounding the corner.

"Mom, what are guys doing here?" Adrianna smiled looking back at her.

"You didn't expect us to stay in Florida after hearing I'm gonna be a grandmother, did you?" she asked looking up at her smiling.

"I'm glad you guys are here." she smiled looking over at her, Olivia and Ned.

"Congratulations." Ned smiled hugging Roger as Grace and Olivia hugged Adrianna.

"Thanks." Roger smiled looking up at him smiling.

"So you're gonna be a father, huh? Bet you never thought you'd see the day, huh?" he asked looking over at Roger.

"No I didn't, but I always knew if I did, Aid would be the mother." Roger smiled looking over at her as she laughed with her mother and sister.

"I'll bet you did. Why are you two out here? Shouldn't you be inside partying with everyone else?" he asked looking over at him.

"I just needed a minute alone with my wife." he said looking over at him.

"You two have been through a lot in the short time you've been together, haven't you?" Ned asked as he watched Adrianna, Olivia and Grace laugh.

"Yeah, but she's a survivor, isn't she?" he asked looking over at Adrianna.

"You both are. Come on, let's go inside and celebrate with the rest of the family." Ned smiled as he and Roger looked at each other.

"What are you guys doing here really?" Roger asked turning to him.

"My wife just thought it would be nice to surprise you guys to celebrate something good for a change. It's not often something good happens in this family, she wanted to make the most of it." Ned smiled putting his hand on Roger's shoulder.

"I have a feeling all the bad stuff is behind us." Roger said turning to look at Adrianna.

"Me too son." Ned smiled as they went to their wives and re entered the cafe.


	21. Chapter 21

"Mom, can I ask you for a favor?" Adrianna asked looking over at Grace as they sat in Adrianna and Roger's apartment.

"Anything sweetie. What is it?" she asked smiling over at her.

"I wanna buy a brownstone. I need it to have 3 apartments in addition to a main floor for me, Roger and the baby." she smiled looking over at her.

"The apartments are for Mark, Maureen and Joanne and Collins?" she asked looking over at her.

"Yeah. Roger and I need a bigger place with the baby coming and I don't want to do it without everyone with us. I can't. I want our child to have as many people around him who love him." she told her as tears stung her eyes.

"OK Adrianna. What do you need me to do?" she asked smiling over at her.

"I need you to help me. I don't want anyone to know about it. And I need it to have a back yard. Roger wants to be able to teach the baby how to play football and push him on a swing set, and he wants to be able to have family barbeque's. I want to be able to give Roger everything he ever dreamed of for our child mom." she said looking over at her.

"No problem sweetie. Why don't you leave it all up to me and I'll take care of everything. I'll even furnish it if you want." she smiled looking over at her.

"Thanks mom. I appreciate it." she smiled leaning over to hug her.

"Oh sweetie, you and Roger have been through so much and now you are finally getting what you have deserved for as long as you've been together. Of course I'm gonna help you." she smiled holding her tight.

"I know. Can you believe me and Roger are gonna be parents in 5 months?" she smiled looking over at her.

"Sweetie, you're gonna make incredible parents." she smiled looking over at her.

"I hope so." she said looking down.

"Adrianna, listen to me. If you and Roger love this child half as much as you love each other, this is gonna be the luckiest child there ever was." she smiled lifting Adrianna's chin up to look into her bright blue eyes.

"That's the thing mom. I'm not worried about us loving this child enough. I'm worried about us being there for him growing up. With Roger's HIV and my cancer, I'm really scared that we're going to be abandoning him." she said as tears rolled down her face.

"You are not going to abandon this child Adrianna. Your cancer is gone and Roger is on the best meds they have out there. You have nothing to be afraid of." she said pulling her close to her.

"I hope not mom, but you just don't know that." she cried looking up at her.

"All I know is if anyone can beat HIV and cancer, it's you and Roger." she said comforting her daughter.

"I hope so." she cried as her mother stroked her hair.

* * *

"Mom, this is perfect. Maureen and Joanne can have the 2 bedroom, so Joanne can have an office, and the other two are perfect for Mark and Collins." Adrianna smiled looking around the brownstone.

"What do you think of the back yard?" she Grace asked smiling at her.

"It's incredible. Roger is gonna love it. We can put the barbeque over there and the swing set will look perfect over there." she smiled looking around in awe.

"So should we buy it?" she asked looking over at her.

"Yes. I want this brownstone, mom. It feels like home." she smiled leaning over to hug her.

"I'll sign the papers as soon as we get out of here. You can move in next week." she smiled looking over at her.

"Thank you so much mom." she smiled looking over at her.

* * *

"Baby, what is this place?" Roger asked looking around the brownstone.

"Do you like it?" she asked looking up at him.

"It's ours, isn't it?" he asked looking down at her.

"Not ours, persay. It's everybody's." she smiled looking up at him.

"What do you mean, everybody's?" he asked looking over at her.

"Well, there are 3 apartments upstairs. A 2 bedroom for Maureen and Joanne and a couple of 1 bedrooms for Mark and Collins." she smiled looking up at him.

"Everyone's moving in with us?" he asked looking down at her.

"I hope they will. I want our child to be raised around as many people who love him as possible." she smiled wrapping her arms around his waist.

I want that too Baby." he smiled kissing her head.

"Really?" she asked a little surprised. She had expected to have to use her femine wiles to convince him that it was a good idea.

"Yeah, really." he smiled holding her tight.

"Oh, I thought I was gonna have to do a little bit of convincing." she told him pouting.

"Oh yeah? Do you wanna have to convince me?" he smiled leaning down to kiss her neck.

"Well I mean, I'm glad i don't have to, but I was looking forward to doing a little convincing." she giggled looking over at him.

"I'm sorry Baby. You can convince me later if you want." he smiled kissing up her neck to her lower ear.

"OK." she giggled turning her head to kiss him. "Oh my God, I want to show you the best part." she said excitedly before taking his hand and leading him to the back yard.

"But I was in the middle of the best part." he whined looking down at her as she dragged him off.

"Stop whining Roger. So, what do you think? We can put the barbeque over there and that spot right there looks perfect for a swing set." she smiled as Roger looked around the back yard.

"It's amazing Aid. I love it." he smiled wandering around the yard.

"You do?" she asked smiling at him.

"I absolutely love it." he called out rushing over to pick her up into his arms.

"Aid, this is perfect. I mean, really perfect. I've never seen a more perfect home for our family." he smiled kissing her hard on the mouth.

"Good, because we can probably move in next week." she smiled looking over at him.

"I can't wait." he laughed kissing her again. "We have to show everybody." he told her putting her down.

"OK Baby. Let's get everyone and show them." she laughed looking up at him.

"Come on Baby." he smiled taking her hand and leading her out of the brownstone.

* * *

"What are we doing here? You know, I'm pregnant and would rather not give birth to yours and Aid's child in prison." Maureen said looking over at Roger as he and Adrianna laughed.

"Yeah, I'm too old to be planning a prison break." Collins smiled putting his arm around Maureen's shoulder.

"Would you two quit it, it's OK. No one's going to prison. We're home." Adrianna laughed looking up at them.

"You bought this place? It's amazing." she smiled looking around.

"Well we're glad you like it because it's yours too." Roger smiled with his arm around Adrianna's waist.

"What do you mean?" Collins asked looking over at him.

"Well go upstairs and find out." Adrianna smiled as everyone filed up the stairs. There were paper signs on the doors. Each one had someone's name on it. They all entered the rooms with their names on it.

"This is great." Mark yelled from his apartment. It was already furnished with a screen set up in the small alcove in front of a projector.

"You really like it Mark?" Adrianna smiled looking over at him.

"Yeah, but what is all this?" he asked confused.

"It's your apartment, bonehead. You didn't think we were gonna be able to raise our kid without you guys close, did you?" he asked looking over at him.

"I have an office?" Joanne called out from hers and Maureen's apartment.

"Another county heard from." Adrianna laughed as they went in to see them. "Yeah sweetie, so if you want to work from home, you can." she smiled as Joanne sat at her desk.

"This is incredible." she smiled looking around the office at the computer and the books lined up against the wall.

"You really like it?" Adrianna smiled looking over at her.

"I love it. This is probably the greatest idea anyone has ever had." she smiled rushing over to hug Adrianna.

"Well we can't be expected to raise this baby alone, can we? I mean, with Roger's incessent guitar playing and my total lack of culinary skills, this poor baby doesn't stand a chance." she smiled as Maureen smiled down at her belly.

"Don't worry my little one. Auntie Maureen and Auntie Joanne will protect you." she laughed caressing her belly. "Woah." she called out lookingu p stunned.

"What happened?" Adrianna asked looking over at her.

"I think the baby just kicked." she smiled looking over at her.

"He did." Roger asked as everyone rushed over to her.

"Yep, right there." she smiled taking Adrianna's hand and placing it on the side of her more then slightly swollen belly.

"Oh my God, he did. Hi my little angel." she smiled as tears rose to her eyes. "Roger, feel this." she said taking his hand and putting it where hers was.

"Woah. Hey dudes, got some kick." he laughed smiling down at her.

"You're telling me." Maureen laughed looking up at him.

"He's really in there." Adrianna smiled looking up at him.

"How do you guys know it's a boy?" Collins asked looking down at them.

"Just a hunch." Adrianna smiled looking up at him.

"I think he feels like he's home." Maureen smiled caressing her belly.


	22. Chapter 22

"Maureen, come on. We gotta go." Roger yelled standing at the bottom of the stairs in the brownstone.

"Roger, will you calm down? We have time." Adrianna said coming in from the kitchen drinking her coffee.

"Yeah well you know how Maureen gets. We've been late to our last 3 doctor appointments." he said going to her.

"You're just excited because we're gonna find out the sex of the baby today." she laughed looking up at him.

"And you're not?" he asked looking down at her.

"Of course I'm excited, but settle down. She'll be down in a minute." she smiled looking up at him.

"OK Baby. I'm sorry." he smiled leaning down to kiss her head.

"It's OK." she laughed as Maureen came down the stairs.

"Are you happy Roger, I'm here?" she said waddling down the stairs.

"Very." he laughed with his arm around Adrianna.

"Do you want some tea? Breakfast?" Adrianna asked looking up at her.

"No, I'm good. I ate upstairs. And yes, Roger, I took my vitamins." she smiled looking up at him.

"Sorry Mo. I know I haven't exactly been the easiest person to deal with since you got pregnant." he said as Adrianna caressed his chest.

"It's OK Roger. I understand. I'm carrying yours and Aid's child. You're worried." she smiled looking up at him.

"OK, are we ready to go?" Adrianna asked looking at the clock in the living room.

"Yeah, we're ready." Roger smiled leaning down to kiss her head again. They walked the 3 blocks to the doctors office. Roger had his arm around Adrianna and they were all laughing. Maureen loved seeing Roger and Adrianna together. It made everything worth it. The morning sickness, losing her curvy figure and having to give up the baby when he was born. She couldn't wait to watch Roger and Adrianna raise their baby.

"Hi Maureen. Are you guys ready to see the baby?" the receptionist asked smiling up at her.

"Yes we are." Maureen smiled as Roger and Adrianna smiled at each other.

"The doctor will see you now." the receptionist smiled as the nurse opened the door.

"So how do you feel Maureen?" he asked as he entered the examining room.

"I feel good. But I'm eating everything in sight. I'm afraid once the baby is born, I'm gonna still look like I'm pregnant." she laughed hopping up onto the table.

"That's OK. there are plenty of things you can do now to keep yourself in shape so your body bounces back eaisier. Now why don't you lay down and we'll take a look at this little one." he smiled as Roger and Adrianna stood next to her nervously.

"OK, let's see. There's the baby's heartbeat, and that looks like his face." he smiled looking up at Adrianna and Roger.

"He?" Roger asked looking down at him.

"Yes dad, it looks like you're having a son." he smiled as Adrianna looked at the screen with tears in her eyes.

"You knew it Baby." he said looking down at her. "Aid, are you OK?" he asked seeing that she was crying.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. That's our baby boy Roger." she cried as Maureen smiled up at her taking her hand.

"Aid, look. He's OK." she smiled as Roger held her closer.

"I know, but it's had to believe that's our baby." she said still looking at the screen.

"Congratulations Adrainna." the doctor smiled looking up at her.

"I love you Maureen." she smiled leaning down to hug her.

"I love you guys too." she smiled hugging Adrianna.

"Now we need to celebrate. I mean big." Roger said smiling down at them.

"Yes we do." she said smiling up at him as she wiped the tears from her face.

_3 Months later_

"Mom, what are you doing here?" Adrianna asked opening the door to the brownstone.

"My son in law called me and asked if I wanted to come up for the birth of my grandson and of course I'm not gonna say no." she smiled leaning in to hug her.

"I'm so glad you're here mom. Maureen's gonna go any day now and I'm so scared." she said holding her tight.

"You have nothing to be scared of. You and Roger are ready for this baby. His nursery is set up, and you and Roger have been wanting this for a while now. You can do it Adrianna." she smiled caressing her hair.

"Mom, I'm so scared that I'm not gonna be a good mother to him." she told her starting to cry.

"Adrianna, listen to me. You and his father love each other more than anything in the world. You just love this baby as much as you love his father and this baby is gonna be OK. I promise." she smiled holding her daughters face in her hands.

"I love you mom." she smiled looking over at her.

"I love you too my sweet girl." she smiled hugging her again.

"Where's Ned and Liv?" she asked looking around.

"They're with Roger. They figured they'd go to lunch so you and I could have some time to talk. Mother to mother to be." she smiled caressing her face.

"That husband of mine, huh?" she laughed looking into her mothers blue eyes.

"He's a great man Adrianna. I made a huge mistake when I first met him. To say I misjudged him would be an understatement. Just because he wasn't financially secure, I didn't think he was good enough for you, but as I got to know him, I realized that he is the best man I could ask for for my little girl." she smiled looking over at her.

"A lot's happened since then, huh?" she laughed looking over at her.

"Yeah, it has. But you and Roger survived it all and now look at you. You're about to be parents to the luckiest little boy there ever was." she smiled.

"Our little boy. We decided on a name." Adrianna smiled wiping her eyes.

"What?" she asked smiling at her.

"Adam John Davis. After daddy." she smiled looking over at her.

"That's a great name sweetie." she smiled as they entered the brownstone. "This place looks great." she smiled looking around.

"Thanks mom." she smiled sitting on the couch.

"Is Roger playing again." she smiled looking over at the guitar in the corner.

"Yeah, he's trying to write some songs. He wants to get the band back together. You know, with me healthy again and the baby coming, he wants to get back into performing." she smiled looking over at the guitar.

"I bet you're happy about that." she smiled seeing the look on Adrianna's face.

"I am. He's got too much talent not to be performing." she smiled looking over at her.

"Where is everyone else?" she asked looking around.

"Collins and Joanne are at work, Maureen's laying down and Mark's at the park." she smiled looking around.

"Why don't you go wake Maureen up and we'll meet Roger, Ned and Olivia for lunch." she smiled looking over at her.

"OK." she smiled climbing up the stairs to get Maureen. "Hey Mo, are you up?" she asked entering the apartment.

"Yeah, I'm up. Who can sleep with this belly?" she laughed rolling out of the bed.

"Sorry sweetie. My mom's here and wants to take us out for lunch." she smiled looking over at her.

"I would love that. I'm starving." she smiled slipping her sneakers on.

"I figured you would be." she laughed looking over at her.

"Hey watch it. I'm carrying Roger's son." she laughed as they left the apartment.

"Good point. If he's anything like his father, he better learn how to work out early." she laughed following her down the stairs.

"Hi Maureen, you look great." Grace smiled looking up at her.

"I look like a beached whale, but thanks Grace." Maureen smiled looking over at her.

"No you don't. You look beautiful. Just think, you're in the home stretch and then you and Joanne can come to Florida for some R&R while you get your figure back." Grace smiled looking down at her.

"I can't wait." Maureen smiled looking over at Grace before the left the brownstone.

"Baby, what are you doing here?" Roger asked getting up from the table to greet them as they entered the restaurant.

"Mom thought me and Maureen needed lunch. I can't believe you knew they were coming and didn't tell me." she smiled looking up at him.

"I thought it would be a nice surprise. You've been really anxious lately." he smiled looking down at her.

"Thank you Roger." she smiled leaning up to kiss him.

"Anything for my girl." she smiled holding her in his arms.


	23. Chapter 23

"Maureen honey, you can do this, OK? Just breathe through the pains." Adrianna smiled looking over at her as she lay in the hospital bed.

"This hurts more than I thought it would." she laughed but clearly in pain.

"I know sweetie, just breathe, OK?" she said looking over at her.

"I have some ice chips." Roger said entering the room.

"Thank you Baby." Adrianna smiled looking over at him. He looked so scared. Seeing Maureen in so much pain made him kind of glad that Adrianna wasn't the one having the baby.

"I'm OK Roger. Really. It's just a contraction. They don't last that long." Maureen smiled looking over at him seeing he was scared.

"I know." he said trying to cover, before sitting in the chair.

"Why don't you two go for a walk? We're gonna be here a while." Maureen smiled looking up at them as she relaxed.

"Are you OK in here for a few minutes sweetie?" Adrianna asked looking down at her.

"Yeah, I'm OK. Why don't you send Joanne in so you and Roger can go for a walk? Get some fresh air." she smiled looking over at them.

"Are you sure? We could stay if you need us to. We don't want to miss anything." Roger said looking over at her.

"You're not gonna miss anything, trust me. Everything's fine for now. Go, really." Maureen insisted looking up at them.

"We'll be right back sweetie, OK?" Adrianna smiled leaning down to kiss Maureen's head.

"OK.I'm fine guys, really." she smiled as Roger and Adrianna left the room.

"Are you OK Roger?" Adrianna asked looking up at him.

"No. Is it bad that I'm glad you're not the one in that bed?" he asked looking down at her.

"No Baby, it's not bad. Is it bad that I wish I was the one in that bed?" she asked laughing a little.

"Of course not Aid." he said leaning down at kiss her head.

"Is she OK? Did she have the baby yet?" Joanne asked jumping up from her chair seeing them standing outside the room.

"No, but she wants you to keep her company. Roger and I are just gonna go for a little walk. We'll be right back." Adrianna smiled looking up at her.

"How dialated is she?" Grace asked looking over at them.

"6 but that was an hour ago, so it's going pretty slow." Roger said looking down at her.

"Why don't you go for a walk? We'll find you if anything happens." Ned said patting Roger on the shoulder.

"Thanks." Roger said looking over at him before he and Adrianna left the hospital.

"I am so scared Roger." Adrianna said looking up at him.

"Me too Baby, but everything's gonna be OK. Adam and Maureen are fine." he said holding her in his arms.

"I know, but I mean, by the end of the day we're gonna be someone's parents." she said looking up at him.

"Baby, we're gonna be great parents. We've loved this boy since before he even existed." he said looking down at her.

"I know. I'm just scared. I'm scared my cancer is gonna come back and your HIV is gonna catch up to us and I don't want to leave our boy. Our little baby boy who never did anything but be born." she said starting to cry.

"Aid, your cancer is not gonna come back and I'm not gonna die. I'm healthier than I've ever been. We're gonna have plenty of time to love our son and let him know he matters. It's OK Baby." he whispered holding her in his arms as they stood outside the hospital.

"It just feels like things are too good right now. I'm waiting for the ceiling to cave in on us." she said looking up at him.

"I know Baby, but we've survived a lot too. We're due some good stuff right now." he said kissing her head.

"I hope you're right." she said looking up at him wiping her face.

"Roger, Aid Maureen's asking for you." Ned smiled looking up at them.

"Is everything OK?" Adrianna asked looking panicked.

"I don't know sweetie. The doctor was just in to see her and she told Joanne that she need for you guys to come back in." he said looking over at them.

"Thanks Ned." Roger said as he and Adrianna rushed back into the hospital.

"Are you OK Maureen? Is everything OK?" Adrianna asked looking down at her.

"The doctor said I'm 8 dialated now. It won't be long now." she smiled looking up at them.

"Maureen, that's great. How do you feel?" Adrianna asked looking over at her.

"Not too bad. I can handle it. They want to bring me into the delivery room soon." she smiled looking up at them.

"We're gonna be parents soon Aid." he smiled looking down at her.

"I know Baby." she smiled looking up at him.

* * *

"He is so gorgeous. Thank you so much Maureen." Adrianna cried holding Adam in her arms.

"You and Roger made him. I just gave him somewhere to hang out." she laughed looking up at them.

"Maureen, you have no idea what you did for us. Thank you so much." Roger smiled as tears ran down his face.

"Yeah, I do. I just helped complete our family." she smiled looking up at him.

"Yeah you did Maureen." Adrianna smiled looking down at the baby. "Mommy and daddy love you so much my little angel." she smiled looking down at him.

"Are you in a mood for visitors?" Ned asked cracking open the door.

"Yeah, yeah we are." Maureen smiled looking up at them as they gushed over the baby as Ned waved everyone into the room.

"Everyone, we would like you to meet Adam John Davis. Adam, this is your family." Adrianna smiled as everyone looked down at him.

"Yeah, the whole crazy lot of them." Roger laughed looking over at them.

"Can I hold him? Please?" Grace asked looking over at them.

"Sure. Here you go Adam. Go to grandma and grandpa." she smiled as Ned looked down at her surprised.

"Oh like you didn't know you were his grandpa." Adrianna laughed wiping her tears from her face.

"I love you Adrianna." he smiled reaching out to hug her.

"I know. I love you too Ned." she smiled as Roger watched Grace with his son.

* * *

"Hey Adam John Davis. This is your home." Roger smiled looking down at Adam who was laying in his arms sleeping as they entered the brownstone.

"Look at him. He's such a good boy." Grace smiled looking down at him.

"Yeah, we'll see how good he is at 2 in the morning." Adrianna laughed looking up at her.

"You're gonna love every second of it Aid." Maureen smiled as she carefully walked into the brownstone.

"You bet your ass I am." she smiled putting her arm around her.

"I'm gonna show him his room, OK?" Roger smiled as Mark filmed them walking into the brownstone.

"OK Baby. I'm gonna make him a bottle. It's almost time for his next feeding." Adrianna smiled looking over at Roger.

"Why don't you put him down? He'll wake up when he's hungry." Grace said looking over at them.

"Are you sure?" Adrianna asked unsure of what she was doing.

"I'm positive sweetie. Don't worry so much. He'll know when he's hungry." she smiled looking up at her.

"OK. Put him down in his room Roger, but don't forget to bring out the baby monitor." she smiled looking over at him.

"OK Baby." he smiled bringing him into his room and putting him in his crib. "I love you Adam." he whispered kissing his sons head before putting him into his crib.


End file.
